Encoding device, decoding device, encoding method, and decoding method for coding efficiency

ABSTRACT

According to an embodiment, an encoding device includes a deriving unit and an encoding unit. The deriving unit is configured to derive a first reference value based on fixed point precision representing roughness of a weighting factor that is used for multiplying a reference image. The encoding unit is configured to encode a first difference value that is a difference value between the weighting factor and the first reference value and the fixed point precision. The weighting factor is included in a first range of predetermined bit precision having the first reference value at approximate center. The first difference value is in the predetermined range.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser.No. 16/293,916 filed Mar. 6, 2019, which is a continuation applicationof U.S. application Ser. No. 15/438,357 filed Feb. 21, 2017, now U.S.Pat. No. 10,277,900, which is a continuation application of U.S.application Ser. No. 14/725,941 filed May 29, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No.9,621,914, which is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser.No. 14/026,727 filed Sep. 13, 2013, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,462,291, whichis a continuation of PCT international Application Ser. No.PCT/JP2012/066410, filed on Jun. 27, 2012, which designates the UnitedStates. The entire contents of each of the above-noted documents areincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

Embodiments described herein relate generally to an encoding method, adecoding method, an encoding device, and a decoding device.

BACKGROUND

In recent years, a method of encoding an image with markedly improvedcoding efficiency is recommended as ITU-T REC. H.264 and ISO/IEC14496-10 (hereinafter, referred to as “H.264”) in cooperation of ITU-T(International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication StandardizationSector) and ISO (International Organization for Standardization)/IEC(International Electrotechnical Commission).

In H.264, an inter-prediction coding system is disclosed in whichredundancy in the time direction is eliminated to achieve high codingefficiency by making a motion compensation prediction of fractionalprecision using a coded image as a reference image.

In addition, a system is proposed in which a moving image including afading or dissolving effect is encoded with efficiency higher than thatof an inter-prediction coding system according to ISO/IEC MPEG (MovingPicture Experts Group)-1, 2, 4. In this system, a motion compensationprediction of fractional precision is made for an input moving imagehaving luminance and two color differences as frames for predicting achange in the brightness in the time direction. Then, by using areference image, luminance, and a weighting factor for each luminanceand two color differences, an offset and for each luminance and twocolor differences, and the like, a predicted image is multiplied by aweighting factor, and an offset is added thereto. The weighting factorcan represent a fraction with predetermined precision using a parameterrepresenting fixed point precision, and a weighted motion-compensatedprediction can be made for a pixel value change between images with moredelicate precision.

In a conventional technology as described above, while a referenceimage, a weighting factor, an offset, and the like are encoded as anindex, the index is defined to be represented with predetermined bitprecision, and accordingly, there are cases where a weighting factorcannot be represented. An object of the present invention is to providean encoding method, a decoding method, an encoding device, and adecoding device capable of improving the coding efficiency whilerepresenting a weighting factor with predetermined bit precision.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram that illustrates an example of an encodingdevice according to a first embodiment;

FIG. 2A is an explanatory diagram that illustrates an example of apredicted coding sequence for a pixel block according to the firstembodiment;

FIG. 2B is an explanatory diagram that illustrates another example of apredicted coding sequence for a pixel block according to the firstembodiment;

FIG. 3A is a diagram that illustrates an example of the size of a codingtree block according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 3B is a diagram that illustrates a specific example of the codingtree block according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 3C is a diagram that illustrates another specific example of thecoding tree block according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 3D is a diagram that illustrates another specific example of thecoding tree block according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram that illustrates an example of a predictedimage generating unit according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a diagram that illustrates an example of the relation betweenmotion vectors for a motion-compensated prediction in a bidirectionalprediction according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram that illustrates an example of a multi-framemotion compensation unit according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a reference diagram that illustrates weighting factors;

FIG. 8 is a reference diagram that illustrates a selection range of aweighting factor of H.264;

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram that illustrates an example of aselection range of the weighting factor according to the firstembodiment;

FIG. 10A is an explanatory diagram that illustrates a specific exampleof the selection range of the weighting factor according to the firstembodiment;

FIG. 10B is an explanatory diagram that illustrates another specificexample of the selection range of the weighting factor according to thefirst embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a reference diagram that illustrates a minimum value and amaximum value of weighting factors of H.264;

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram that illustrates an example of aminimum value and a maximum value of weighting factors according to thefirst embodiment;

FIG. 13A is a diagram that illustrates an example of WP parameterinformation according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 13B is a diagram that illustrates an example of the WP parameterinformation according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart that illustrates an example of the process ofderiving the selection range of the weighting factor according to thefirst embodiment;

FIG. 15 is a diagram that illustrates an example of syntax according tothe first embodiment;

FIG. 16 is a diagram that illustrates an example of picture parameterset syntax according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 17 is a diagram that illustrates an example of slider header syntaxaccording to the first embodiment;

FIG. 18 is a diagram that illustrates an example of pred weight tablesyntax according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram that illustrates an example of therelation of values of syntax elements according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 20 is a block diagram that illustrates an example of theconfiguration of a decoding device according to a second embodiment;

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram that illustrates an example of theselection range of an offset according to Modification 1;

FIG. 22 is a flowchart that illustrates an example of the process ofderiving the selection range of the offset according to Modification 1;

FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram that illustrates an example of theselection range of a weighting factor according to Modification 2;

FIG. 24 is a flowchart that illustrates an example of the process ofderiving the selection range of the weighting factor according toModification 2;

FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram that illustrates an example of therange of a difference value between weighting factors of an encodingtarget according to Modification 3;

FIG. 26 is an explanatory diagram that illustrates an example of therelation between values of syntax elements according to Modification 3;

FIG. 27 is an explanatory diagram that illustrates an example of therange of a difference value between weighting factors according toModification 4;

FIG. 28 is an explanatory diagram that illustrates an example of theselection range of the weighting factor after decoding according toModification 4;

FIG. 29 is a flowchart that illustrates an example of a wrapping processof a difference value between weighting factors according toModification 5; and

FIG. 30 is a flowchart that illustrates an example of a restorationprocess of a weighting factor according to Modification 5; and

FIG. 31 is an explanatory view illustrating a hardware configuration ofthe device according to each embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

According to an embodiment, an encoding device includes a deriving unitand an encoding unit. The deriving unit is configured to derive a firstreference value based on fixed point precision representing roughness ofa weighting factor that is used for multiplying a reference image. Theencoding unit is configured to encode a first difference value that is adifference value between the weighting factor and the first referencevalue and the fixed point precision. The weighting factor is included ina first range of predetermined bit precision having the first referencevalue at approximate center. The first difference value is in thepredetermined range.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference tothe accompanying drawings. An encoding device and a decoding deviceaccording to each embodiment presented below may be implemented byhardware such as an LSI (Large-Scale Integration) chip, a DSP (DigitalSignal Processor), or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). Inaddition, an encoding device and a decoding device according to eachembodiment presented below may be implemented by causing a computer toexecute a program, in other words, by software. In description presentedbelow, a term “image” may be appropriately replaced by a term such as a“video”, a “pixel”, an “image signal”, a “picture”, or “image data”.

First Embodiment

In a first embodiment, an encoding device encoding a moving image willbe described.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram that illustrates an example of theconfiguration of an encoding device 100 according to a first embodiment.

The encoding device 100 divides each frame or each field configuring aninput image into a plurality of pixel blocks and performs predictedencoding of the divided pixel blocks using encoding parameters inputfrom an encoding control unit 111, thereby generating a predicted image.Then, the encoding device 100 generates a prediction error bysubtracting the predicted image from the input image divided into theplurality of pixel blocks, generates encoded data by performingorthogonal transformation, and quantization, and then entropy encodingfor the generated prediction error, and outputs the generated encodeddata.

The encoding device 100 performs predicted encoding by selectivelyapplying a plurality of prediction modes that are different from eachother in at least one of the block size of the pixel block and themethod of generating a predicted image. The method of generating apredicted image can be largely divided into two types including anintra-prediction in which a prediction is made within an encoding targetframe and an inter-prediction in which a motion-compensated predictionis made using one or more reference frames of different time points. Theintra-prediction is also called an internal-screen prediction, aninternal-frame prediction, or the like, and the inter-prediction is alsocalled an inter-screen prediction, an inter-frame prediction, amotion-compensated prediction, or the like.

FIG. 2A is an explanatory diagram that illustrates an example of apredicted coding sequence for a pixel block according to the firstembodiment. In the example illustrated in FIG. 2A, the encoding device100 performs prediction encoding from the upper left side toward thelower right side in the pixel block. Thus, in an encoding processingtarget frame f, on the left side and the upper side of the encodingtarget pixel block c, pixel blocks p that have been encoded are located.

FIG. 2B is an explanatory diagram that illustrates another example of apredicted coding sequence for a pixel block according to the firstembodiment. In the example illustrated in FIG. 2B, the encoding device100 divides a screen into a plurality of tile shapes or slice shapes,and then, performs predicted encoding from upper left side of a pixelblock within each tile or each slice toward the lower right side.Accordingly, in an encoding processing target frame f, on the left sideand the upper side of the encoding target pixel block c, pixel blocks pthat have been encoded are located. Here, a tile represents an areaacquired by cutting the screen into arbitrary rectangular areas, and aslice represents an area acquired by cutting the screen into anarbitrary number of large coding tree blocks to be described later inthe prediction coding order.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 2B, after the screen is divided intoa plurality of tile shapes or a plurality of slices, an encoding processis performed for each tile or each slice, and accordingly, a decodingprocess for each tile or each slice can be performed. Thus, byperforming decoding processes of a high-resolution video in a parallelmanner, the amount of calculation required for decoding can be divided.In other words, in the example illustrated in FIG. 2B, the encodingprocess and the decoding process can be performed at high speed.

Hereinafter, for the simplification of description, while it is assumedthat the encoding device 100 performs prediction encoding in orderillustrated in FIG. 2A, the order in the prediction encoding is notlimited thereto.

The pixel block represents a unit for processing an image and, forexample, a block having an M×N size (here, M and N are natural numbers),a coding tree block, a macro block, a sub-block, one pixel, or the likecorresponds thereto. In description presented below, basically, thepixel block is used as the meaning of a coding tree block but may beused as a different meaning. For example, in description of a predictionunit, a pixel block is used as the meaning of a pixel block of theprediction unit. A block may be referred to as a unit or the like. Forexample, a coding block may be referred to as a coding unit.

FIG. 3A is a diagram that illustrates an example of the size of a codingtree block according to the first embodiment. The coding tree block,typically, is a pixel block of 64×64 as illustrated in FIG. 3A. However,the coding tree block is not limited thereto but may be a pixel block of32×32, a pixel block of 16×16, a pixel block of 8×8, a pixel block of4×4, or the like. Here, the coding tree block may not be a square but,for example, may be a pixel block of an M×N size (here, M≠N).

FIGS. 3B to 3D are diagrams representing specific examples of the codingtree block according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3B represents acoding tree block having a size of 64×64 (N=32). Here, N represents thesize of a reference coding tree block. The size of a case where thecoding tree block is divided is defined as N, and the size of a casewhere the coding tree block is not divided is defined as 2N. FIG. 3Crepresents a coding tree block acquired by dividing the coding treeblock illustrated in FIG. 3B into a quadtree. The coding tree block, asillustrated in FIG. 3C, has a quadtree structure. In a case where thecoding tree block is divided, as illustrated in FIG. 3C, numbers areattached to four pixel blocks after division in the Z scanning order.

In addition, within each number of the quadtree, the coding tree blockmay be further divided into a quadtree. Accordingly, the coding treeblock may be divided in a hierarchical manner. In such a case, the depthof the division is defined as Depth. FIG. 3D represents one of thecoding tree blocks acquired by dividing the coding tree blockillustrated in FIG. 3B into a quadtree, and the block size thereof is32×32 (N=16). The depth of the coding tree block illustrated in FIG. 3Bis “0”, and the depth of the coding tree block illustrated in FIG. 3D is“1”. In addition, a coding tree block having a largest unit is called alarge coding tree block, and an input image signal is encoded in such aunit in the raster scanning order.

In the description presented below, the encoded target block or thecoding tree block of an input image may be referred to as a predictiontarget block or a prediction pixel block. In addition, the encoding unitis not limited to the pixel block, but at least one of a frame, a field,a slice, a line, and a pixel may be used as the encoding unit.

The encoding device 100, as illustrated in FIG. 1, includes: asubtraction unit 101; an orthogonal transformation unit 102; aquantization unit 103; an inverse quantization unit 104; an inverseorthogonal transformation unit 105; an addition unit 106; a predictedimage generating unit 107; an index setting unit 108; a motionevaluating unit 109; and an encoding unit 110. In addition, the encodingcontrol unit 111 illustrated in FIG. 1 controls the encoding device 100and, for example, may be implemented by using a CPU (Central ProcessingUnit) or the like.

The subtraction unit 101 acquires a prediction error by subtracting acorresponding predicted image from an input image divided into pixelblocks. The subtraction unit 101 outputs the prediction error so as tobe input to the orthogonal transformation unit 102.

The orthogonal transformation unit 102 performs an orthogonaltransformation such as a discrete cosine transform (DCT) or a discretesine transform (DST) for the prediction error input from the subtractionunit 101, thereby acquiring a transformation coefficient. The orthogonaltransformation unit 102 outputs the transformation coefficient so as tobe input to the quantization unit 103.

The quantization unit 103 performs a quantization process for thetransformation coefficient input from the orthogonal transformation unit102, thereby acquiring a quantization transformation coefficient. Morespecifically, the quantization unit 103 performs quantization based on aquantization parameter designated by the encoding control unit 111 andquantization information such as a quantization matrix. Described inmore detail, the quantization unit 103 acquires the quantizationtransformation coefficient by dividing the transformation coefficient bya quantization step size derived based on the quantization information.The quantization parameter represents the fineness of the quantization.The quantization matrix is used for weighting the fineness of thequantization for each component of the transformation coefficient. Thequantization unit 103 outputs the quantization transformationcoefficient so as to be input to the inverse quantization unit 104 andthe encoding unit 110.

The inverse quantization unit 104 performs an inverse quantizationprocess for the quantization transformation coefficient input from thequantization unit 103, thereby acquiring a restoration transformationcoefficient. More specifically, the inverse quantization unit 104performs inverse quantization based on the quantization information usedby the quantization unit 103. Described in detail, the inversequantization unit 104 acquires a restoration transformation coefficientby multiplying the quantization transformation coefficient by thequantization step size derived based on the quantization information. Inaddition, the quantization information used by the quantization unit 103is loaded from an internal memory, which is not illustrated in thefigure, of the encoding control unit 111 and is used. The inversequantization unit 104 outputs the restoration transformation coefficientso as to be input to the inverse orthogonal transformation unit 105.

The inverse orthogonal transformation unit 105 performs an inverseorthogonal transformation such as an inverse discrete cosine transform(IDCT) or an inverse discrete sine transform (IDST) for the restorationtransformation coefficient input from the inverse quantization unit 104,thereby acquiring a restoration prediction error. Here, the inverseorthogonal transformation performed by the inverse orthogonaltransformation unit 105 corresponds to an orthogonal transformationperformed by the orthogonal transformation unit 102. The inverseorthogonal transformation unit 105 outputs the restoration predictionerror so as to be input to the addition unit 106.

The addition unit 106 adds the restoration prediction error input fromthe inverse orthogonal transformation unit 105 and a correspondingpredicted image, thereby generating a local decoded image. The additionunit 106 outputs the local decoded image so as to be input to thepredicted image generating unit 107.

The predicted image generating unit 107 stores the local decoded imageinput from the addition unit 106 in a memory (not illustrated in FIG. 1)as a reference image and outputs the reference image stored in thememory so as to be input to the motion evaluating unit 109. In addition,the predicted image generating unit 107 generates a predicted image byperforming a weighted motion-compensated prediction based on the motioninformation and WP parameter information input from the motionevaluating unit 109. The predicted image generating unit 107 outputs thepredicted image so as to be input to the subtraction unit 101 and theaddition unit 106.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram that illustrates an example of theconfiguration of the predicted image generating unit 107 according tothe first embodiment. The predicted image generating unit 107, asillustrated in FIG. 4, includes: a multi-frame motion compensation unit201; a memory 202; a single-directional motion compensation unit 203; aprediction parameter control unit 204; a reference image selector 205; aframe memory 206; and a reference image control unit 207.

The frame memory 206 stores the local decoded image input from theaddition unit 106 as a reference image under the control of thereference image control unit 207. The frame memory 206 includes aplurality of memory sets FM1 to FMN (here, N≥1) used for temporarilystoring the reference image.

The prediction parameter control unit 204 prepares a plurality ofcombinations each of a reference image number and a prediction parameteras a table based on the motion information input from the motionevaluating unit 109. Here, the motion information represents informationof a motion vector representing the deviation of a motion that is usedfor the motion-compensated prediction, the reference image number, and aprediction mode such as a single-directional/bidirectional prediction.The prediction parameter represents information relating to the motionvector and the prediction mode. Then, the prediction parameter controlunit 204 selects a combination of a reference number and a predictionparameter used for generating a predicted image based on the input imageand outputs the selected combination so as to allow the reference imagenumber to be input to the reference image selector 205 and allow theprediction parameter to be input to the single-directional motioncompensation unit 203.

The reference image selector 205 is a switch that changes one of outputterminals of the frame memories FM1 to FMN, which are included in theframe memory 206, to be switched to based on a reference image numberinput from the prediction parameter control unit 204. For example, whenthe reference image number is “0”, the reference image selector 205connects the output terminal of the frame memory FM1 to the outputterminal of the reference image selector 205, and, when the referenceimage number is N−1, the reference image selector 205 connects theoutput terminal of the frame memory FMN to the output terminal of thereference image selector 205. The reference image selector 205 outputs areference image stored in the frame memory of which the output terminalis connected thereto from among the frame memories FM1 to FMN includedin the frame memory 206 so as to be input to the single-directionalmotion compensation unit 203 and the motion evaluating unit 109.

The single-directional motion compensation unit 203 performs amotion-compensated prediction process based on the prediction parameterinput from the prediction parameter control unit 204 and the referenceimage input from the reference image selector 205, thereby generating asingle-directional predicted image.

FIG. 5 is a diagram that illustrates an example of the relation betweenmotion vectors for a motion-compensated prediction in a bidirectionalprediction according to the first embodiment. In the motion-compensatedprediction, an interpolation process is performed using the referenceimage, and a single-directional predicted image is generated based ondeviations of motions of the generated interpolated image and the inputimage from the pixel block located at the encoding target position.Here, the deviation is a motion vector. As illustrated in FIG. 5, in thebidirectional prediction slice (B-slice), a predicted image is generatedby using two types of reference images and a motion vector set. As theinterpolation process, an interpolation process of ½-pixel precision, aninterpolation process of ¼-pixel precision, or the like is used, and, byperforming a filtering process for the reference image, a value of theinterpolated image is generated. For example, in H.264 in which aninterpolation up to ¼-pixel precision can be performed for a luminancesignal, the deviation is represented as four times integer pixelprecision.

The single-directional motion compensation unit 203 outputs asingle-directional predicted image and temporarily stores thesingle-directional predicted image in the memory 202. Here, in a casewhere the motion information (prediction parameter) represents abi-directional prediction, the multi-frame motion compensation unit 201makes a weighted prediction using two types of single-directionalpredicted images. Accordingly, the single-directional motioncompensation unit 203 stores a single-directional predicted imagecorresponding to the first type in the single-directional predictedimage in the memory 202 and directly outputs a single-directionalpredicted image corresponding to the second type to the multi-framemotion compensation unit 201. Here, the single-directional predictedimage corresponding to the first type will be referred to as a firstpredicted image, and the single-directional predicted imagecorresponding to the second type will be referred to as a secondpredicted image.

In addition, two single-directional motion compensation units 203 may beprepared and generate two single-directional predicted images. In such acase, when the motion information (prediction parameter) represents asingle-directional prediction, the single-directional motioncompensation unit 203 may directly output the first single-directionalpredicted image to the multi-frame motion compensation unit 201 as afirst predicted image.

The multi-frame motion compensation unit 201 makes a weighted predictionby using the first predicted image input from the memory 202, the secondpredicted image input from the single-directional motion compensationunit 203, and the WP parameter information input from the motionevaluating unit 109, thereby generating a predicted image. Themulti-frame motion compensation unit 201 outputs the predicted image soas to be input to the subtraction unit 101 and the addition unit 106.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram that illustrates an example of theconfiguration of the multi-frame motion compensation unit 201 accordingto the first embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the multi-framemotion compensation unit 201 includes: a default motion compensationunit 301; a weighted motion compensation unit 302; a WP parametercontrol unit 303; and WP selectors 304 and 305.

The WP parameter control unit 303 outputs a WP application flag andweighting information based on the WP parameter information input fromthe motion evaluating unit 109 so as to input the WP application flag tothe WP selectors 304 and 305 and input the weighting information to theweighted motion compensation unit 302.

Here, the WP parameter information includes a first WP application flag(described in more details, flag information of a first WP applicationflag), a second WP application flag (described in more details, flaginformation of a second WP application flag), and information ofweighting information. The first WP application flag and the second WPapplication flag are parameters that can be set for each reference imageand each signal component and include information of whether a defaultmotion-compensated prediction is made or a weighted motion-compensatedprediction is made for the first predicted image and the secondpredicted image. Here, in a case where the first WP application flag andthe second WP application flag are respectively “0”, it represents thatdefault motion-compensated predictions are made. On the other hand, in acase where the first WP application flag and the second WP applicationflag are respectively “1”, it represents that weightedmotion-compensated predictions are made.

The weighting information includes information of a value w_(0c) of thefirst weighting factor, a value w_(1c) of the second weighting factor, aparameter LWD (here, it may be referred to as “fixed point precisionLWD”) representing the fixed point precision of the first and secondweighting factors, a first offset o_(0c), and a second offset o_(1c).Here, the variable C represents a signal component. For example, in thecase of a YUV spatial signal, a luminance signal is represented by C=Y,a Cr color difference signal is represented by C=Cr, and a Cb colordifference component is represented by C=Cb.

The first weighting factor is a weighting factor corresponding to thefirst predicted image and is a parameter having a value determined(changed) in accordance with the fixed point precision LWD. The secondweighting factor is a weighting factor corresponding to the secondpredicted image and is a parameter having a value determined (changed)in accordance with the fixed point precision LWD. The fixed pointprecision LWD is a parameter that controls an interval widthcorresponding to fractional precision of the second weighting factor.While different values of the fixed point precision LWD may be used inaccordance with the luminance and the color difference, here, for thesimplification of description, the fixed point precision will bedescribed without being explicitly divided for each color signal. Forexample, in a case where when w_(0c) is 1.0 (1 in the binary notation),when being represented as a real value, and LWD is 5, the firstweighting factor is 32 (100000 in the binary notation). In addition, ina case where when w_(1c) is 2.0 (10 in the binary notation), when beingrepresented as a real value, and LWD is 5, the second weighting factoris 64 (1000000 in the binary notation). The first offset o_(0c) is anoffset corresponding to the first predicted image, and the second offseto_(1c) is an offset corresponding to the second predicted image.

In addition, when WP parameter information is input, the WP parametercontrol unit 303 checks whether a value of the weighting information iswithin a prescribed range and resets the value, which is out of therange, to a value within the range or changes the value of the WPapplication flag. For example, in a case where w_(0c) is 3.0, when beingrepresented as a real value, and LWD is 7, the first weighting factor is384. Here, it is assumed that 384 is out of the range of the firstweighting factor and cannot be used, and 96 is within the range of thefirst weighting factor and can be used. In such a case, the WP parametercontrol unit 303 may reset the first weighting factor to be within therange of the first weighting factor by setting LWD to 5 and setting thefirst weighting factor to 96 with w_(0c) being maintained to be 3.0 whenrepresented as a real value. In addition, at that time, the WP parametercontrol unit 303 may perform a quantization process. For example, in acase where LWD is 7, and the first weighting factor is 385, the WPparameter control unit 303 may resetting the first weighting factor to96 by setting the first weighting factor to 384 by performing aquantization process and then setting LWD to 5 and w_(0c) to 3.0 whenbeing represented as a real value. In addition, the WP parameter controlunit 303 may changes the value of the first WP application flag from 1to 0, thereby a weighted motion-compensated prediction is not used.While the technique is not limited thereto, the WP parameter controlunit 303 performs control such that the value of the weightinginformation does not exceed the prescribed range determined based on thespecifications and the like.

The WP selectors 304 and 305 change the connection ends of the predictedimages based on the WP application flags input from the WP parametercontrol unit 303. In a case where the corresponding WP application flagis “0”, each one of the WP selectors 304 and 305 connects the output endthereof to the default motion compensation unit 301. Then, the WPselectors 304 and 305 output the first and second predicted images so asto be input to the default motion compensation unit 301. On the otherhand, in a case where the corresponding WP application flag is “1”, eachone of the WP selectors 304 and 305 connects the output end thereof tothe weighted motion compensation unit 302. Then, the WP selectors 304and 305 output the first and second predicted images so as to be inputto the weighted motion compensation unit 302.

The default motion compensation unit 301 performs average processing(default motion-compensated prediction) based on the twosingle-directional predicted images (the first and second predictedimages) input from the WP selectors 304 and 305, thereby generating apredicted image. More specifically, in a case where the first and secondWP application flags are “0”, the default motion compensation unit 301performs average processing based on Numerical Expression (1).

P[x,y]=Clip1((PL0[x,y]+PL1[x,y]+offset2)>>(shift2))  (1)

Here, P[x, y] is a predicted image, PL0[x, y] is a first predictedimage, and PL1[x, y] is a second predicted image. In addition, offset2and shift2 are parameters of a rounding process in the averageprocessing and are determined based on the internal calculationprecision of the first and second predicted images. Clip1(X) is afunction for clipping a variable X with specific bit precision and,here, clips the variable X within the bit precision of a predictedimage. For example, when the bit precision L of a predicted image is 8,a value out of the range of 0 to 255 is clipped to 0 to 255. Describedin more detail, a value that is 0 or less is set to 0, and a value thatis more than 255 is set to 255.

When the bit precision of the predicted image is L, and the bitprecision of the first and second predicted images is M (L M), shift2 isformulated by Numerical Expression (2), and offset2 is formulated byNumerical Expression (3).

shift2=(M−L+1)  (2)

offset2=(1<<(shift2−1)  (3)

For example, the bit precision of the predicted image is “8”, and thebit precision of the first and second predicted images is “14”, shift2=7based on Numerical Expression (2), and offset2=(1<<6) based on NumericalExpression (3).

In addition, in a case where the prediction mode represented by themotion information (prediction parameter) is the single-directionalprediction, the default motion compensation unit 301 calculates a finalpredicted image using only the first predicted image based on NumericalExpression (4).

P[x,y]=Clip1((PLX[x,y]+offset1)>>(shift1))   (4)

Here, PLX[x, y] represents a single-directional predicted image (firstpredicted image), and X is an identifier representing either “0” or “1”as a reference list. For example, PLX[x,y] is PL0[x,y] in a case wherethe reference list is “0” and is PL1[x,y] in a case where the referencelist is “1”. In addition, offset1 and shift1 are parameters for arounding process and are determined based on the internal calculationprecision of the first predicted image. When the bit precision of thepredicted image is L, and the bit precision of the first predicted imageis M, shift1 is formulated by Numerical Expression (5), and offset1 isformulated by Numerical Expression (6).

shift1=(M−L)  (5)

offset1=(1<<(shift1−1)  (6)

For example, in a case where the bit precision of the predicted image is“8”, and the bit precision of the first predicted image is “14”,shift1=6 based on Numerical Expression (5), and offset1=(1<<5) based onNumerical Expression (6).

The weighted motion compensation unit 302 performs weighted motioncompensation (weighted motion-compensated prediction) based on the twosingle-directional predicted images (the first and second predictedimages) input from the WP selectors 304 and 305 and the weightinginformation input from the WP parameter control unit 303.

Here, the weighting factor will be further described. FIG. 7 is areference diagram for describing the weighting factor and illustrates anexample of a change in the gray scale of a moving image having a pixelvalue change in the time direction. In the example illustrated in FIG.7, an encoding target frame is Frame(t), a frame that is one framebefore the encoding target frame in time is Frame(t−1), and a frame thatis one frame after the encoding target frame in time is Frame(t+1). Asillustrated in FIG. 7, in a fading image changing from white to black,the brightness (gray scale value) of the image decreases in accordancewith the elapse of time. The value of the weighting factor representsthe degree of change in the pixel value as described with reference toFIG. 7 and takes a value of “1.0” in a case where there is no change inthe pixel value (in a case where a change in the pixel value is “0”)when represented as a real value.

Here, a case will be described in which there is no change in the pixelvalue. For example, in a case where a moving image in which the samestill image is continuous in time is considered, a change betweenscreens in the luminance is zero. In such a case, since a change in thepixel value is zero even when a weighted motion-compensated predictionis made, the case is equivalent to a case where the weighted motioncompensation unit 302 makes a default motion-compensated prediction. Insuch a case, in other words, in a case where there is no change in thepixel value, the weighted motion compensation unit 302 selects areference value of the weighting factor, whereby the defaultmotion-compensated prediction is realized as a weightedmotion-compensated prediction. Here, the reference value of theweighting factor can be derived based on the fixed point precision(1<<LWD).

Generally, a change in the pixel value of a moving image such as afading effect, a dissolving effect, or the like is not that much foreach frame, and accordingly, the value of the weighting factor isinclined toward 1.0 when represented as a real value. In addition, inthe first embodiment, since the value of the weighting factor isquantized with fixed point precision represented as a power of 2, evenwhen there is only an average change between two images in the pixelvalue, in the case of a change with 1/128 precision or less, the valueof the weighting factor is quantized to 1/0 when represented as a realvalue. Accordingly, in the first embodiment, even in a case where achange in the pixel value occurs, the case can be treated as a casewhere there is substantially no change in the pixel value. Hereinafter,for the simplification of description, the description will be presentedwith assuming a case where there is no change in the pixel value, inother words, a case where the value of the weighting factor is 1.0 whenrepresented as a real value. In addition, a case where there is nochange in the pixel value corresponds to a case where a change in thepixel value is a predetermined value (a value that is sufficientlysmaller than the precision of the weighting factor) or less.

Accordingly, in a case where the first WP application flag and thesecond WP application flag are “1”, the weighted motion compensationunit 302 performs a weighting process based on Numerical Expression (7).

P[x,y]=Clip1(((PL0[x,y]*w _(0c) +PL1[x,y]*w _(1c)+((o _(0c) +o_(1c)+1)<<LWD))>>(LWD+1)))  (7)

In addition, in a case where the calculation precision of the first andsecond predicted images and the calculation precision of the predictedimage are different from each other, the weighted motion compensationunit 302 realizes a rounding process by controlling LWD as in NumericalExpression (8).

LWD′=LWD+offset1  (8)

The rounding process can be realized by substituting LWD represented inNumerical Expression (7) with LWD′ represented in Numerical Expression(8). For example, in a case where the bit precision of the predictedimage is 8, and the bit precision of the first and second predictedimages is 14, by resetting LWD, a batch rounding process having the samecalculation precision as that of shift2 represented in NumericalExpression (1) can be realized.

In addition, in a case where the prediction mode represented by themotion information (prediction parameter) is a single directionalprediction, the weighted motion compensation unit 302 calculates a finalpredicted image using only the first predicted image based on NumericalExpression (9).

P[x,y]=Clip1((PLX[x,y]*w _(xc)+(1<<(LWD−1)))>>(LWD)+o _(xc))  (9)

Here, PLX[x, y] represents a single-directional predicted image (firstpredicted image), w_(xc) represents a weighting factor corresponding toa single directional prediction, X is an identifier representing either“0” or “1” as a reference list, and o_(xc) represents an offsetcorresponding to a single-directional prediction. For example, PLX[x,y],w_(xc), and the offset are PL0[x,y], w_(0c), and o_(0c) in a case wherethe reference list is “0” and are PL1[x,y], w_(1c), and o_(1c) in a casewhere the reference list is “1”.

In addition, in a case where the calculation precision of the first andsecond predicted images and the calculation precision of the predictedimage are different from each other, the weighted motion compensationunit 302 realizes a rounding process by controlling LWD, as in NumericalExpression (8), similarly to the case of the bi-directional prediction.

The rounding process can be realized by replacing LWD represented inNumerical Expression (9) with LWD′ represented in Numerical Expression(8). For example, in a case where the bit precision of the predictedimage is “8”, and the bit precision of the first predicted image is“14”, by resetting LWD, it is possible to realize a batch roundingprocess for the calculation precision similar to that of shift1represented in Numerical Expression (4).

In addition, in the case of a single directional prediction, variousparameters (the second WP application flag, the second weighting factor,and the second offset information) corresponding to the second predictedimage are not used and may be set to initial values determined inadvance.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the motion evaluating unit 109 performs amotion evaluation between a plurality of frames based on an input imageand a reference image input from the predicted image generating unit 107and outputs the motion information and the WP parameter information,thereby inputting the motion information to the predicted imagegenerating unit 107 and the encoding unit 110 and inputting the WPparameter information to the predicted image generating unit 107 and theindex setting unit 108.

The motion evaluating unit 109 calculates an error, for example, bycalculating differences between an input image of a prediction targetpixel block and a plurality of reference images corresponding to thesame position as a starting point, shifts the position with fractionalprecision, and calculates optimal motion information using a techniquesuch as block matching for finding a block of a minimal error or thelike. In the case of a bi-directional prediction, the motion evaluatingunit 109 performs block matching including a default motion compensationprediction as represented in Numerical Expressions (1) and (4) using themotion information derived from the single-directional prediction,thereby calculating motion information of the bidirectional prediction.

At this time, the motion evaluating unit 109 can calculate the WPparameter information by performing block matching including a weightedmotion compensation prediction as represented in Numerical Expressions(7) and (9). In addition, for the calculation of the WP parameterinformation, a method of calculating a weighting factor or an offsetusing a pixel gradient of the input image, a method of calculating aweighting factor or an offset in accordance with the accumulation of aprediction error at the time of encoding, or the like may be used.Furthermore, as the WP parameter information, a fixed value determinedin advance for each encoding device may be used.

Here, a method of calculating a weighting factor, the fixed pointprecision of the weighting factor, and an offset from a moving imagehaving a pixel value change in time will be described by referring backto FIG. 7. As described above, in the fading image changing from whiteto black as illustrated in FIG. 7, the pixel value (gray scale value)decreases in accordance with the elapse of time. The motion evaluatingunit 109 can calculate the weighting factor by calculating the slopethereof.

The fixed point precision of the weighting factor is informationrepresenting the precision of the slope, and the motion evaluating unit109 can calculate an optimal value based on a distance to the referenceimage in time and the degree of change of the image value. For example,in FIG. 7, in a case where the value of the weighting factor betweenFrame(t−1) and Frame(t+1) is 0.75 when represented with real-valueprecision, ¾ can be represented in the case of ¼ precision, andaccordingly, the motion evaluating unit 109 sets the fixed pointprecision to 2 (1<<2). Since the value of the fixed point precisioninfluences on the code amount of a case where the weighting factor isencoded, as the value of the fixed point precision, an optimal value maybe selected in consideration of the code amount and the predictionprecision. In addition, the value of the fixed point precision may be afixed value determined in advance.

In addition, in a case where the slope is not matched, the motionevaluating unit 109 can calculate the value of the offset by acquiring acorrection value (deviation amount) corresponding to the intercept ofthe linear function. For example, in FIG. 7, in a case where a weightingfactor between Frame(t−1) and Frame(t+1) is 0.60 when represented withreal precision, and the fixed point precision is “1” (1<<1), there is ahigh possibility that the weighting factor is set to “1” (correspondingto 0.50 when the value of the weighting factor is represented with realprecision). In such a case, since the fractional precision of theweighting factor deviates from 0.60, which is an optimal value, by 0.10,the motion evaluating unit 109 calculates a correction valuecorresponding thereto based on a maximum value of the pixel and sets thecorrection value as the value of the offset. In a case where the maximumvalue of the pixel is 255, the motion evaluating unit 109 may set avalue such as 25 (255×0.1).

In the first embodiment, although the motion evaluating unit 109 isrepresented as one function of the encoding device 100 as an example,the motion evaluating unit 109 is not an essential configuration of theencoding device 100, and, for example, the motion evaluating unit 109may be a device other than the encoding device 100. In such a case, themotion information and the WP parameter information calculated by themotion evaluating unit 109 may be loaded into the encoding device 100.

The index setting unit 108 receives the WP parameter information inputfrom the motion evaluating unit 109, checks a reference list (listnumber) and a reference image (reference number), and outputs indexinformation so as to be input to the encoding unit 110. The indexsetting unit 108 generates the index information by mapping the WPparameter information input from the motion evaluating unit 109 into asyntax element to be described later. At this time the index settingunit 108 derives a selection range of the weighting factor and checksthat the weighting factor is included in the selection range.

Here, the deriving of the selection range of the weighting factor willbe described.

In the first embodiment, as described above, a case is assumed in whichthere is no change in the pixel value, and the value of the weightingfactor is 1.0 when represented as a real value. In such a case, it issatisfied that the weighting factor/the reference value of the weightingfactor=1. As described above, since the reference value of the weightingfactor is (1<<LWD), the weighting factor is (1<<LWD) and has the samevalue as the reference value of the weighting factor in the firstembodiment.

By the way, in H.264 and the like, each index of the weighting factor,the offset, or the like is defined to take a value of signed 8 bits of−128 to 127, and the fixed point precision is defined to take a value of0 to 7. Thus, according to the first embodiment, there are cases wherethe weighting factor is out of the defined range.

FIG. 8 is a reference diagram that illustrates the selection range of aweighting factor of H.264 and represents weighting factors (1<<LWD) of acase where the fixed point precision LWD takes values from 0 to 7. As isapparent from FIG. 8, the weighting factor takes a positive value nearzero as the value of the fixed point precision LWD decreases. However,when the value of the fixed point precision LWD is 7, the weightingfactor is 128, which is out of the range defined in H.264.

As above, in the regulation of H.264, the range of the weighting factordesired to be used is out of the regulated range, which is not obedientto practical applications. In addition, in a single-directionalprediction, even when a weighting factor corresponding to the negativedirection is selected, there is a high possibility that a predictedpixel value output by the single-directional prediction may be clippedto be zero based on the clipping range of an input image, and aweighting factor corresponding to the negative direction cannot besubstantially selected. On the other hand, in a bi-directionalprediction, in order to realize an external insertion prediction, a usemethod may be employed in which the weighting factor of thesingle-directional prediction on one side is set to a negative value,and the weighting factor on the other side is set to a positive value.However, there are many cases where a negative-side value does notrequire the same precision as that of a positive-side value as the rangeof the weighting factor.

For this reason, according to the first embodiment, the index settingunit 108 derives a selection range of the weighting factor by assigningvalues in the negative and positive directions with the reference valueof the weighting factor being set as approximate center and checks thatthe weighting factor is included in the derived selection range of theweighting factor.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram that illustrates an example of theselection range of the weighting factor according to the firstembodiment. In the example illustrated in FIG. 9, differently from theselection range of the weighting factor described with reference to FIG.8, the reference value (1<<LWD) of the weighting factor is arranged soas to be positioned at approximate center of the selection range, avalue (−128+(1<<LWD)) acquired by subtracting 128 from the referencevalue of the weighting factor is a minimum value of the selection range,and a value (127+(1<<LWD)) acquired by adding 127 to the reference ofthe weighting factor is a maximum value of the selection range.

The index setting unit 108 sets a selection range of the weightingfactor by using Numerical Expressions (10) and (11). A minimum value ofthe selection range is formulated by Numerical Expression (10), and amaximum value of the selection range is formulated by using NumericalExpression (11).

min w _(xc)=−128+(1<<LWD)  (10)

max w _(xc)=127+(1<<LWD)  (11)

FIGS. 10A and 10B are explanatory diagrams that illustrate specificexamples of the selection range of the weighting factor according to thefirst embodiment. FIG. 10A illustrates the selection range of theweighting factor of a case where the value of the fixed point precisionLWD is 7, and FIG. 10B illustrates the selection range of the weightingfactor of a case where the value of the fixed point precision LWD is 5.In the example illustrated in FIG. 10A, the reference value of theweighting factor, which is “128”, is arranged so as to be positioned atapproximate center of the selection range, a minimum value of theselection range is 0, and a maximum value of the selection range is 255.In the example illustrated in FIG. 10B, the reference value of theweighting factor, which is “32”, is arranged so as to be positioned atapproximate center of the selection range, a minimum value of theselection range is −96, and a maximum value of the selection range is159.

FIG. 11 is a reference diagram that illustrates a minimum value and amaximum value of the selection range of the weighting factor of H.264.FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram that illustrates an example of theminimum value and the maximum value of the selection range of theweighting factor according to the first embodiment. As illustrated inFIG. 11, in H.264, a minimum value and a maximum value of the selectionrange of the weighting factor are constant regardless of the referencevalue of the weighting factor. On the other hand, as illustrated in FIG.12, according to the first embodiment, a minimum value and a maximumvalue of the selection range of the weighting factor change depending onthe reference value of the weighting factor.

As illustrated in FIG. 12, in a case where the selection range of theweighting factor is set with the reference value of the weighting factorbeing the approximate center thereof, the range taken by the weightingfactor is −127 to 255, and precision of signed 9 bits is required. Forthis reason, in the first embodiment, the encoding unit 110 to bedescribed later updates a weighting factor set as an index, in otherwords, a value of the encoding target to a difference value between theweighting factor and the reference value of the weighting factor. Asillustrated in FIG. 9, it can be understood, by subtracting thereference value of the weighting factor from the derived selection rangeof the weighting factor, the range of the difference value between theweighting factors takes a signed 8-bit value of −128 to 127. In otherwords, while the selection range of the weighting factor changesdepending on the reference value of the weighting factor in a case wherethe selection range of the weighting factor is set with the referencevalue of the weighting factor being the approximate center thereof, bysubtracting the reference value of the weighting factor from theselection range of the weighting factor, the range of a difference valuebetween the weighting factors is constant regardless of the referencevalue of the weighting factor. As above, according to the firstembodiment, since the weighting factor is replaced with the differencevalue between the weighting factors, the selection range of theweighting factor expands, and the selection range having singed 8-bitprecision can be defined.

In addition, in a case where it is checked that the weighting factor isnot included in the derived selection range of the weighting factor, theindex setting unit 108 may perform a clipping process using a maximumvalue or a minimum value of the selection range of the weighting factor.In such a case, the index setting unit 108 may clip the weighting factorto the minimum value in a case where the weighting factor is less thanthe minimum value of the selection range and clip the weighting factorto the maximum value in a case where the weighting factor is more thanthe maximum value of the selection range. By introducing such a clippingprocess, the value of the encoding target such as the difference valuebetween the weighting factors takes a value within the predetermined bitprecision without arranging a specific range restriction, andaccordingly, the configuration of the circuit scale used by the hardwarecan be clarified.

Furthermore, in the first embodiment, although a case is assumed inwhich the selection range of the weighting factor has signed 8-bitprecision, the precision of the selection range of the weighting factoris not limited thereto and, for example, may be signed 9-bit precision.In such a case, while the selection range of the weighting factor is−256 to 255, −128 represented in Numerical Expression (10) may bereplaced with −256, and 127 represented in Numerical Expression (11) maybe replaced with 255.

In addition, in the first embodiment, although an example has beendescribed in which the selection range of the weighting factor isderived by the index setting unit 108, the deriving of the selectionrange is not limited thereto but may be performed by the encoding unit110. Each of the index setting unit 108 and the encoding unit 110 may bereferred to as a deriving unit.

FIGS. 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating examples of the WP parameterinformation that is input to the index setting unit 108 according to thefirst embodiment. An example of the WP parameter information at the timeof P-slice is as illustrated in FIG. 13A, and an example of the WPparameter information at the time of B-slice is as illustrated in FIGS.13A and 13B. A list number is an identifier representing a predictiondirection. The list number has a value of “0” in the case of asingle-directional prediction. On the other hand, in the case of abi-directional prediction, two types of prediction can be used, andaccordingly, the list number has two values of “0” and “1”. A referencenumber is a value corresponding to any one of 1 to N represented in theframe memory 206. Since the WP parameter information is maintained foreach reference list and reference image, in a case where there are Nreference images, 2N pieces of information are necessary at the time ofB-slice.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart that illustrates an example of the process ofderiving the selection range of the weighting factor according to thefirst embodiment. Here, while a case is assumed for description in whichthe index setting unit 108 performs the process of deriving theselection range of the weighting factor, as described above, the processmay be performed by the encoding unit 110.

First, the index setting unit 108 derives fixed point precision LWD ofthe weighting factor (Step S02). Here, the index setting unit 108 mayderive the fixed point precision LWD of the weighting factor from the WPparameter information or from the index information.

Subsequently, the index setting unit 108 derives a reference value(1<<LWD) of the weighting factor by using the derived fixed pointprecision LWD (Step S03).

Subsequently, the index setting unit 108 derives a minimum value of theselection range of the weighting factor by subtracting 128 from thederived reference value (1<<LWD) of the weighting factor (Step S04).

Subsequently, the index setting unit 108 adds 127 to the derivedreference value (1<<LWD) of the weighting factor, thereby deriving amaximum value of the selection range of the weighting factor (Step S05).

Then, the index setting unit 108 checks that the weighting factor isincluded within the derived selection range of the weighting factor.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the encoding unit 110 performs an encodingprocess of various encoding parameters such as the quantizationtransformation coefficient input from the quantization unit 103, themotion information input from the motion evaluating unit 109, the indexinformation and the selection range of the weighting factor input fromthe index setting unit 108, and the quantization information designatedby the encoding control unit 111, thereby generating encoded data. Asthe encoding process, for example, there is a Huffman encoding orarithmetic coding.

Here, the encoding parameters are parameters such as predictioninformation representing a prediction method or the like, informationrelating to the quantization transformation coefficient, and informationrelating to quantization that are necessary for a decoding process. Forexample, it may be configured such that an internal memory notillustrated in the figure is included in the encoding control unit 111,the encoding parameters are maintained in the internal memory, and theencoding parameters of an adjacent pixel block, which has been completedto be encoded, is used when a pixel block is encoded. For example, in anintra-prediction of H.264, prediction information of a pixel block maybe derived from the prediction information of an adjacent block that hasbeen completed to be encoded.

The encoding unit 110 outputs the generated encoded data at appropriateoutput timing managed by the encoding control unit 111. Various kinds ofinformation, which is output encoded data, for example, is multiplexedby a multiplexing unit not illustrated in the figure or the like, istemporarily stored in an output buffer not illustrated in the figure orthe like, and, then, for example, is output to a storage system (storagemedium) or a transmission system (communication line).

The encoding unit 110 includes an entropy encoding unit 110A and anindex reconfiguring unit 110B.

The entropy encoding unit 110A performs an encoding process such asvariable-length coding or arithmetic coding process for information thathas been input. For example, in H.264, a context based adaptive variablelength coding (CAVLC), context based adaptive binary arithmetic coding(CABAC), or the like is used.

In order to reduce the code length of a syntax element of the indexinformation input from the index setting unit 108, the indexreconfiguring unit 110B performs a prediction process based on thecharacteristics of the parameters of the syntax element, calculates adifference value between the value (direct value) of the syntax elementand a predicted value, and outputs the difference to the entropyencoding unit 110A. A specific example of the prediction process will bedescribed later. In addition, in a case where the selection range of theweighting factor is derived by the encoding unit 110, the predictionprocess is performed by the index reconfiguring unit 110B.

FIG. 15 is a diagram that illustrates an example of syntax 500 used bythe encoding device 100 according to the first embodiment. The syntax500 illustrates the structure of encoded data generated by encoding aninput image (moving image data) using the encoding device 100. When theencoded data is decoded, a decoding device to be described laterperforms a syntax analysis of moving image data by referring to a syntaxstructure that is the same as that of the syntax 500.

The syntax 500 includes three parts including a high-level syntax 501, aslice-level syntax 502, and a coding tree level syntax 503. Thehigh-level syntax 501 includes syntax information of an upper layer thathas a level higher than the slice. The syntax information, for example,includes information of tile shaped divisions described in the exampleillustrated in FIG. 2B. Here, the slice represents a rectangular area ora continuous area included in a frame or a field. The slice-level syntax502 includes information that is necessary for decoding each slice. Thecoding tree level syntax 503 includes information that is necessary fordecoding each coding tree (in other words, each coding tree block). Eachof these parts includes more detailed syntax.

The high-level syntax 501 includes syntax of a sequence and a picturelevel such as a sequence parameter set syntax 504, a picture parameterset syntax 505, and an adaptation parameter set syntax 506.

The slice-level syntax 502 includes a slice header syntax 507, a predweight table syntax 508, a slice data syntax 509, and the like. The predweight table syntax 508 is called from the slice header syntax 507.

The coding tree level syntax 503 includes a coding tree unit syntax 510,a transform unit syntax 511, a prediction unit syntax 512, and the like.The coding tree unit syntax 510 may have a quadtree structure. Morespecifically, the coding tree unit syntax 510 may be recursively furthercalled as a syntax element of the coding tree unit syntax 510. In otherwords, one coding tree block may be subdivided into quadtrees. Inaddition, the transform unit syntax 511 is included in the coding treeunit syntax 510. The transform unit syntax 511 is called from eachcoding tree unit syntax 510 located at a tail end of the quadtree. Inthe transform unit syntax 511, information relating to inverseorthogonal transformation, quantization, and the like is described. Inthe syntax, information relating to the weighted motion compensationprediction may be described.

FIG. 16 is a diagram that illustrates an example of the pictureparameter set syntax 505 according to the first embodiment. Here,weighted_pred_flag, for example, is a syntax element representing thevalidness or invalidness of a weighted compensation prediction accordingto the first embodiment for a P-slice. In a case where theweighted_pred_flag is “0”, the weighted motion compensation predictionaccording to the first embodiment within the P-slice is invalid.Accordingly, the WP application flag included in the WP parameterinformation is constantly set to “0”, and the output ends of the WPselectors 304 and 305 are connected to the default motion compensationunit 301. On the other hand, in a case where the weighted_pred_flag is“1”, the weighted motion compensation prediction according to the firstembodiment within the P-slice is valid.

As another example, in a case where the weighted_pred_flag is “1”, thevalidness or invalidness of the weighted motion compensation predictionaccording to the first embodiment may be defined for each local areawithin the slice in the syntax of a lower layer (the slice header, thecoding tree block, the transform unit, the prediction unit, and thelike).

In addition, weighted_bipred_idc, for example, is a syntax elementrepresenting the validness or invalidness of a weighted compensationprediction according to the first embodiment for a B-slice. In a casewhere the weighted_bipred_idc is “0”, the weighted motion compensationprediction according to the first embodiment within the B-slice isinvalid. Accordingly, the WP application flag included in the WPparameter information is constantly set to “0”, and the output ends ofthe WP selectors 304 and 305 are connected to the default motioncompensation unit 301. On the other hand, in a case where theweighted_bipred_idc is “1”, the weighted motion compensation predictionaccording to the first embodiment within the B-slice is valid.

As another example, in a case where the weighted_bipred_idc is “1”, thevalidness or invalidness of the weighted motion compensation predictionaccording to the first embodiment may be defined for each local areawithin the slice in the syntax of a lower layer (the slice header, thecoding tree block, the transform unit, the prediction unit, and thelike).

FIG. 17 is a diagram that illustrates an example of the slice headersyntax 507 according to the first embodiment. Here, slice-typerepresents the type (an I-slice, a P-slice, a B-slice, or the like) ofslice. In addition, pic_parameter_set_id is an identifier representing apicture parameter set syntax to be referred to 505.num_ref_idx_active_override_flag is a flag representing whether toupdate the number of valid reference images, and, in a case where thisflag is “1”, num_ref_idx_10_active_minus1 andnum_ref_idx_11_active_minus1 that define the numbers of reference imagesof the reference list may be used. In addition, pred weight table( ) isa function representing the pred weight table syntax used for a weightedmotion compensation prediction, and this function is called in a casewhere the weighted_pred_flag is “1” in the case of a P-slice and a casewhere weighted_bipred_idc is “1” in the case of a B-slice.

FIG. 18 is a diagram that illustrates an example of the pred weighttable syntax 508 according to the first embodiment. Here,luma_log2_weight_denom represents the fixed point precision (LWD) of theweighting factor of the luminance signal in a slice and is a valuecorresponding to LWD represented in Numerical Expression (7) or (9). Inaddition, delta_chroma_log2_weight_denom represents the fixed pointprecision of a color difference signal in a slice and a deriving methodthereof will be described later. chroma_format_idc is an identifierrepresenting a color space, and MONO_IDX is a value representing amonochrome video. In addition, num_ref_common_active_minus1 represents avalue that is acquired by subtracting one from the number of referenceimages included in a common list in a slice.

luma_weight_10_flag and luma_weight_11_flag represent WP applicationflags of luminance signals corresponding to Lists 0 and 1. In a casewhere this flag is “1”, a weighted motion compensation prediction of theluminance signal according to the first embodiment is valid for all theareas within the slice. In addition, chroma_weight_10_flag andchroma_weight_11_flag represent WP application flags of color differencesignals corresponding to Lists 0 and 1. In a case where this flag is“1”, a weighted motion compensation prediction of a color differencesignal according to the first embodiment is valid for all the areawithin the slice. luma_weight_10[i] and luma_weight_11[i] are weightingfactors of the luminance signals, which correspond to the i-th referencenumber, managed by Lists 0 and 1. In addition, luma_offset_10[i] andluma_offset_11[i] are offsets of the luminance signals, which correspondto the i-th reference number, managed by Lists 0 and 1. These are valuescorresponding to w_(0c), w_(1c), o_(0c), o_(1c) represented in NumericalExpression (7) or (9). Here, C=Y.

chroma_weight_10[i][j] and chroma_weight_11[i][j] are weighting factorsof the color difference signals, which correspond to the i-th referencenumber, managed by Lists 0 and 1. In addition, chroma_offset_10[i][j]and chroma_offset_11[i][j] are offsets of the color difference signals,which correspond to the i-th reference signal, managed by Lists 0 and 1.These are values corresponding to w_(0c), w_(1c), o_(0c), o_(1c)represented in Numerical Expression (7) or (9). Here, C=Cr or Cb. Inaddition, j represents a component of the color difference, and, forexample, in the case of a signal of YUV 4:2:0, j=0 represents a Crcomponent, and j=1 represents a Cb component. Furthermore, thisrepresentation may be used such that j=0 is the Cb component, and j=1represents the Cr component.

Here, a method of predicting each syntax element relating to theweighted prediction in the syntax configuration will be described indetail. The prediction of the syntax element is performed by the indexreconfiguring unit 110B. In the example illustrated in FIG. 18, eachsyntax element of which the prediction has been introduced is denoted byattaching a prefix “delta”.

First, an inter-signal prediction method of luma_log2_weight_denom andchroma_log2_weight_denom representing the fixed point precision of theweighting factor will be described. The index reconfiguring unit 110Bperforms the inter-signal prediction method of luma_log2_weight_denomand chroma_log2_weight_denom using Numerical Expression (12) andperforms a restoration process using Numerical Expression (13). Here, asillustrated in FIG. 18, since luma_log2_weight_denom is defined first,chroma_log2_weight_denom is predicted based on the value ofluma_log2_weight_denom.

delta_chroma_log2_weight_denom=(chroma_log2_weight_denom−luma_log2_weight_denom)  (12)

chroma_log2_weight_denom=(luma_log2_weight_denom+delta_chroma_log2_weight_denom)  (13)

In a fading effect, generally, since there are a small number of casesin which changes in time are made differently for each color space, thefixed point precision for each signal component has strong correlationwith a luminance component and a color difference component.Accordingly, by making a prediction inside the color space as describedabove, the amount of information representing the fixed point precisioncan be reduced.

In Numerical Expression (12), although the luminance component issubtracted from the color difference component, the color differencecomponent may be subtracted from the luminance component. In such acase, Numerical Expression (13) may be changed in accordance withNumerical Expression (12).

Next, a method of predicting luma_weight_lx[i] andchroma_weight_lx[i][j] representing weighting factors of the luminanceand the color difference signal will be described. Here, x is anidentifier representing “0” or “1”. The values of luma_weight_lx[i] andchroma_weight_lx[i][j] change in accordance with the values ofluma_log2_weight_denom and chroma_log2_weight_denom. For example, in acase where the value of luma_log2_weight_denom is “3”, luma_weight_lx[i]is (1<<3) in a case where no change in the pixel value is assumed. Onthe other hand, in a case where the value of luma_log2_weight_denom is“5”, luma_weight_lx[i] is (1<<5) in a case where no change in brightnessis assumed.

Accordingly, the index reconfiguring unit 110B performs a predictionprocess with a weighting factor of a case where there is no change inthe pixel value being used as a reference coefficient (default value).More specifically, the index reconfiguring unit 110B performs aprediction process of luma_weight_lx[i] using Numerical Expressions (14)and (15) and performs a restoration process using Numerical Expression(16). Similarly, the index reconfiguring unit 110B performs a predictionprocess of chroma_weight_lx[i] using Numerical Expressions (17) and (18)and performs a restoration process using Numerical Expression (19).

delta_luma_weight_lx[i]=(luma_weight_lx[i]−default_luma_weight_lx)  (14)

default_luma_weight_lx=(1<<luma_log2_weight_denom)   (15)

luma_weight_lx[i]=(default_luma_weight_lx+delta_luma_weight_lx[i])  (16)

delta_chroma_weight_lx[i][j]=(chroma_weight_lx[i][j]−default_chroma_weight_lx)  (17)

default_chroma_weight_lx=(1<<chroma_log2_weight_denom)  (18)

chroma_weight_lx[i][j]=(default_chroma_weight_lx+delta_chroma_weight_lx[i][j])  (19)

Here, default_luma_weight_lx, default_chroma_weight_lx are referencevalues (default values) of a case where there is no pixel value changein the luminance component and the color difference component.

An image including a fading effect fades at a specific fading changepoint, and there are many cases where the other images are ordinarynatural images or images having no fading effect. In such a case, thereare many cases where the weighting factor takes a case where there is nochange in the pixel value. Accordingly, an initial value of a case wherethere is no change in the pixel value is derived based on the fixedpoint precision and is used as a predicted value, whereby the codeamount of the weighting factor can be reduced.

Next, a prediction method of chroma_offset_lx[i][j] representing anoffset of the color difference signal will be described. In the colorspace of YUV, a color difference component represents a color using theamount of a deviation from a median value. Accordingly, the amount ofchange based on a change in the pixel value with the median valueconsidered can be set as a predicted value using a weighting factor.More specifically, the index reconfiguring unit 110B performs aprediction process of chroma_offset_lx[i][j] using Numerical Expressions(20) and (21) and performs a restoration process using NumericalExpression (22).

delta_chroma_offset_lx[i][j]=(chroma_offset_lx[i][j]+((MED*chroma_weight_lx[i][j])>>chroma_log2_weight_denom)−MED)  (20)

MED=(MaxChromaValue>>1)  (21)

Here, MaxChromaValue represents maximal pixel value at which a colordifferent signal is obtained. For example, in the case of an 8-bitsignal, MaxChromaValue is 255, and MED is 128.

chroma_offset_lx[i][j]=(delta_chroma_offset_lx[i][j]−((MED*chroma_weight_lx[i][j])>>chroma_log2_weight_denom)+MED)  (22)

By introducing a predicted value acquired by considering the amount of adeviation from the median value using the characteristics of the colordifference signal, the code amount of the offset value of the colordifference signal is smaller than that of a case where the offset valueis directly encoded.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram that illustrates an example of therelation of values of syntax elements according to the first embodimentand illustrates the relation of values of luma_log2_weight_denom,default_luma_weight_lx, luma_weight_lx[i], and delta_luma_weight_lx[i].As illustrated in FIG. 19, the range of delta_luma_weight_lx[i], whichis a syntax element to be encoded by the entropy encoding unit 110A, inother words, the difference value between the weighting factors is fixedto a range of −128 to 127 and has signed 8-bit precision.

As above, in the first embodiment, the selection range of the weightingfactor is derived by assigning values in the negative and positivedirection with the reference point of the weighting factor at which achange in the pixel value is zero being set as the approximate center,and it is checked that the weighting factor is included in the derivedselection range of the weighting factor. Therefore, according to thefirst embodiment, the selection range of the weighting factor expands,and a positive-side value having a high selection frequency can beeasily taken, compared to the case of H.264 or the like. In addition,according to the first embodiment, since the difference value betweenthe weighting factors of the encoding target takes a signed 8-bit valueof −128 to 127 as a fixed value, the selection range of the signed 8-bitprecision can be defined while the selection range of the weightingfactor is expanded.

As above, in the first embodiment, since the range of the syntax (thedifference value between the weighting factors) to be encoded can have afixed value, the specifications can be simplified compared to aconfiguration in which an encoder dynamically changes such a range. Forexample, in a case where the syntax to be encoded is set as a weightingfactor, and the selection range of the weighting factor changes inaccordance with the reference value of the weighting factor, aconfiguration, in which a table associating the reference value of theweighting factor and a minimum value and a maximum value of theselection range of the weighting factor is prepared, and the table isreferred to every time when the selection range of the weighting factoris derived, or a configuration, in which the selection range of theweighting factor is calculated to be derived each time, is necessary. Insuch a case, a configuration for referring to the table each time thetable is loaded into a memory or a calculation circuit used forcalculating the selection range of the weighting factor each time isnecessary, whereby the hardware scale increases. In contrast to this,according to the first embodiment, since the range of the syntax (adifference value between the weighting factors) to be encoded can beconfigured as a fixed value, the hardware scale can be reduced withouthaving restrictions of the hardware configuration described above or thelike.

In addition, in the first embodiment, while a difference value betweenthe weighting factors of which the range is fixed to the signed 8-bitprecision is encoded, the difference value between the weighting factorstakes a value near the center of the range (near zero), and accordingly,the code length at the time of encoding can be shortened, whereby thecoding efficiency can be improved. In H.264 or the like, while theweighting factor is encoded by signed exponential Golomb coding (se(v)),this coding is effective for a symbol of which the value to be encodedexponentially increases with zero used as a reference, and accordingly,generally, a reference value having the highest use frequency is set atthe center of the range. In the first embodiment, a case where a pixelvalue change between pictures of a general moving image is zero is usedas a reference value of the weighting factor, and, also in a predictionfor the selection range of the weighting factor, a prediction from thereference value is introduced. From this, the selection ranges of anexponential Golomb coding prediction and the weighting factor match eachother, and the effect of reducing the code amount is high. In addition,since the coefficient range is determined with the reference value setas the center, even in a case where a large value is taken, the degreesof distances of the positive value and the negative value from thereference value are the same, whereby there is an advantage of capableof encoding data using a code length shorter than that of a conventionaltechnique.

In addition, between rows of the syntax table illustrated in FIGS. 16 to18 according to the first embodiment as examples, a syntax element notdefined in this embodiment may be inserted, or a description relating tothe other conditional branch may be included. Furthermore, the syntaxtable may be divided into a plurality of tables, or a plurality of thesyntax tables may be integrated. In addition, the term of each syntaxelement represented as an example may be arbitrarily changed.

Second Embodiment

In a second embodiment, a decoding device decoding encoded data encodedby the encoding device according to the first embodiment will bedescribed. Also in the second embodiment, similarly to the firstembodiment, the description will be presented with assuming a case wherethere is no change in the pixel value, in other words, a case where thevalue of the weighting factor is 1.0 when represented as a real value.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram that illustrates an example of theconfiguration of a decoding device 800 according to the secondembodiment.

The decoding device 800 decodes encoded data stored in an input buffernot illustrated in the figure or the like into a decoded image andoutputs the decoded image to an output buffer not illustrated in thefigure as an output image. The encoded data, for example, is output fromthe encoding device 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 or the like and is inputto the decoding device 800 through a storage system, a transmissionsystem, a buffer, or the like not illustrated in the figure.

The decoding device 800, as illustrated in FIG. 20, includes: a decodingunit 801, an inverse quantization unit 802; an inverse orthogonaltransformation unit 803; an addition unit 804; a predicted imagegenerating unit 805; and an index setting unit 806. The inversequantization unit 802, the inverse orthogonal transformation unit 803,the addition unit 804, and the predicted image generating unit 805 areelements that are substantially the same as or similar to the inversequantization unit 104, the inverse orthogonal transformation unit 105,the addition unit 106, and the predicted image generating unit 107illustrated FIG. 1. In addition, a decoding control unit 807 illustratedin FIG. 20 controls the decoding device 800 and, for example, isrealized by a CPU or the like.

In order to decode encoded data, the decoding unit 801 performs decodingbased on the syntax for each frame or each field. The decoding unit 801includes an entropy decoding unit 801A and an index reconfiguring unit801B.

The entropy decoding unit 801A sequentially performs entropy decoding ofa code string of each syntax and regenerates motion informationincluding a prediction mode, a motion vector, and a reference number,index information used for predicting a weighted motion-compensatedprediction, and encoding parameters of an encoding target block such asa quantization transformation coefficient and the like. In addition, theentropy decoding is also called parsing processing or the like. Here,the encoding parameters are all the parameters that are necessary fordecoding information relating to a transformation coefficient,information relating to quantization, and the like in addition to thosedescribed above.

More specifically, the entropy decoding unit 801A has a function forperforming a decoding process such as a variable-length decoding processor an arithmetic decoding process for input encoded data. For example,in H.264, context based adaptive variable length coding (CAVLC), contextbased adaptive binary arithmetic coding (CABAC), or the like is used,and input encoded data is decoded into a syntax element having ameaning. Such a process is also called a decoding process.

The index reconfiguring unit 801B reconfigures index information byrestoring the decoded index information. More specifically, in order toreduce the code length of the syntax elements of the decoded indexinformation, the index reconfiguring unit 801B performs a predictionprocess in accordance with the characteristics of parameters of thesyntax elements, restores the syntax elements, and reconfigures theindex information. A specific example of the prediction process will bedescribed later.

The decoding unit 801 outputs the motion information, the indexinformation, and the quantization transformation coefficient, so as toinput the quantization transformation coefficient to the inversequantization unit 802, input the index information to the index settingunit 806, and input the motion information to the predicted imagegenerating unit 805.

The inverse quantization unit 802 performs an inverse quantizationprocess for the quantization transformation coefficient input from thedecoding unit 801 and acquires a restoration transformation coefficient.More specifically, the inverse quantization unit 802 performs inversequantization based on the quantization information used by the decodingunit 801. Described in more detail, the inverse quantization unit 802multiplies the quantization transformation coefficient by a quantizationstep size derived based on the quantization information, therebyacquiring a restored transformation coefficient. The inversequantization unit 802 outputs the restored transformation coefficient soas to be input to the inverse orthogonal transformation unit 803.

The inverse orthogonal transformation unit 803 performs an inverseorthogonal transformation corresponding to the orthogonal transformationperformed on the encoding side for the restored transformationcoefficient input from the inverse quantization unit 802, therebyacquiring a restored prediction error. The inverse orthogonaltransformation unit 803 outputs the restored prediction error so as tobe input to the addition unit 804.

The addition unit 804 adds the restored prediction error input from theinverse orthogonal transformation unit 803 and a corresponding predictedimage, thereby generating a decoded image. The addition unit 804 outputsthe decoded image so as to be input to the predicted image generatingunit 805. In addition, the addition unit 804 outputs the decoded imageto the outside as an output image. Thereafter, the output image istemporarily stored in an external output buffer not illustrated in thefigure or the like and is output to a display device system such as adisplay or a monitor not illustrated in the figure or a video devicesystem, for example, at output timing managed by the decoding controlunit 807.

The index setting unit 806 receives the index information input from thedecoding unit 801, converts the index information into WP parameterinformation, and outputs the WP parameter information so as to be inputto the predicted image generating unit 805. More specifically, the indexsetting unit 806 receives the index information that has been processedto be decoded by the entropy decoding unit 801A and is reconfigured bythe index reconfiguring unit 801B. Then, the index setting unit 806checks a list of reference images and a reference number, converts theindex information into WP parameter information, and outputs theconverted WP parameter information to the predicted image generatingunit 805. When the index information is converted into WP parameterinformation, the index setting unit 806 derives the selection range ofthe weighting factor and checks that the weighting factor is included inthe selection range. Here, the driving of the selection range of theweighting factor is the same as that of the first embodiment, and thus,detailed description thereof will not be presented. In addition, thedriving of the selection range may be performed not by the index settingunit 806 but by the index reconfiguring unit 801B. Each of the indexsetting unit 806 and the index reconfiguring unit 801B (the decodingunit 801) may be referred to as a deriving unit.

In addition, similarly to the first embodiment, the WP parameterinformation includes information of a first WP application flag, asecond WP application flag, and weighting information. Furthermore,similarly to the first embodiment, the weighting information includesinformation of a value w_(0c) of the first weighting factor, a valuew_(1c) of the second weighting factor, fixed point precision LWD of thefirst and second weighting factors, a first offset o_(0c), and a secondoffset o_(1c).

The predicted image generating unit 805 generates a predicted image byusing the motion information input from the decoding unit 801, the WPparameter information input from the index setting unit 806, and thedecoded image input from the addition unit 804.

Here, the predicted image generating unit 805 will be described indetail with reference to FIG. 4. The predicted image generating unit805, similarly to the predicted image generating unit 107, includes: amulti-frame motion compensation unit 201; a memory 202; asingle-directional motion compensation unit 203; a prediction parametercontrol unit 204; a reference image selector 205; a frame memory 206;and a reference image control unit 207.

The frame memory 206 stores the decoded image input from the additionunit 106 as a reference image under the control of the reference imagecontrol unit 207. The frame memory 206 includes a plurality of memorysets FM1 to FMN (here, N 1) used for temporarily storing the referenceimage.

The prediction parameter control unit 204 prepares a plurality ofcombinations each of a reference image number and a prediction parameteras a table based on the motion information input from the decoding unit801. Here, the motion information represents information of a motionvector representing the deviation of a motion that is used for themotion-compensated prediction, the reference image number, and aprediction mode such as a single-directional/bidirectional prediction.The prediction parameter represents information relating to the motionvector and the prediction mode. Then, the prediction parameter controlunit 204 selects a combination of a reference number and a predictionparameter used for generating a predicted image based on the motioninformation and outputs the selected combination so as to allow thereference image number to be input to the reference image selector 205and allow the prediction parameter to be input to the single-directionalmotion compensation unit 203.

The reference image selector 205 is a switch that changes one of outputterminals of the frame memories FM1 to FMN, which are included in theframe memory 206, to be switched to based on a reference image numberinput from the prediction parameter control unit 204. For example, whenthe reference image number is “0”, the reference image selector 205connects the output terminal of the frame memory FM1 to the outputterminal of the reference image selector 205, and, when the referenceimage number is N−1, the reference image selector 205 connects theoutput terminal of the frame memory FMN to the output terminal of thereference image selector 205. The reference image selector 205 outputs areference image stored in the frame memory of which the output terminalis connected thereto from among the frame memories FM1 to FMN includedin the frame memory 206 so as to be input to the single-directionalmotion compensation unit 203. In the decoding device 800, the referenceimage is not used by any unit other than the predicted image generatingunit 805, and accordingly, the reference image need not be output to theoutside of the predicted image generating unit 805.

The single-directional motion compensation unit 203 performs amotion-compensated prediction process based on the prediction parameterinput from the prediction parameter control unit 204 and the referenceimage input from the reference image selector 205, thereby generating asingle-directional predicted image. The motion-compensated predictionhas already been described with reference to FIG. 5, and thus,description thereof will not be presented.

The single-directional motion compensation unit 203 outputs asingle-directional predicted image and temporarily stores thesingle-directional predicted image in the memory 202. Here, in a casewhere the motion information (prediction parameter) represents abi-directional prediction, the multi-frame motion compensation unit 201makes a weighted prediction using two types of single-directionalpredicted images. Accordingly, the single-directional motioncompensation unit 203 stores a single-directional predicted imagecorresponding to the first type in the single-directional predictedimage in the memory 202 and directly outputs a single-directionalpredicted image corresponding to the second type to the multi-framemotion compensation unit 201. Here, the single-directional predictedimage corresponding to the first type will be referred to as a firstpredicted image, and the single-directional predicted imagecorresponding to the second type will be referred to as a secondpredicted image.

In addition, two single-directional motion compensation units 203 may beprepared and generate two single-directional predicted images. In such acase, when the motion information (prediction parameter) represents asingle-directional prediction, the single-directional motioncompensation unit 203 may directly output the first single-directionalpredicted image to the multi-frame motion compensation unit 201 as afirst predicted image.

The multi-frame motion compensation unit 201 makes a weighted predictionby using the first predicted image input from the memory 202, the secondpredicted image input from the single-directional motion compensationunit 203, and the WP parameter information input from the motionevaluating unit 109, thereby generating a predicted image. Themulti-frame motion compensation unit 201 outputs the predicted image soas to be input to the addition unit 804.

Here, the multi-frame motion compensation unit 201 will be described indetail with reference to FIG. 6. Similarly to the predicted imagegenerating unit 107, the multi-frame motion compensation unit 201includes: a default motion compensation unit 301; a weighted motioncompensation unit 302; a WP parameter control unit 303; and WP selectors304 and 305.

The WP parameter control unit 303 outputs a WP application flag andweighting information based on the WP parameter information input fromthe index setting unit 806 so as to input the WP application flag to theWP selectors 304 and 305 and input the weighting information to theweighted motion compensation unit 302.

Described in detail, when the WP parameter information is input from theindex setting unit 806, the WP parameter control unit 303 outputs the WPparameter information with being divided into the first WP applicationflag, the second WP application flag, and the weighting information,thereby inputting the first WP application flag to the WP selector 304,inputting the second WP application flag to the WP selector 305, andinputting the weighting information to the weighted motion compensationunit 302.

In addition, when WP parameter information is input, the WP parametercontrol unit 303 checks whether a value of the weighting information iswithin a prescribed range. For example, in a case where w_(0c) is 3.0,when represented as a real value, and LWD is 7, the first weightingfactor is 384. Here, it is assumed that 384 is out of the range of thefirst weighting factor and cannot be used. In such a case, the dataviolates the specification, and accordingly, the WP parameter controlunit 303 may notify the decoding control unit 807 of informationrepresenting the violation of the specification and stop the decodingprocess. In addition, the WP parameter control unit 303 may perform aclipping process within the range of the first weighting factor andadvance the decoding process. Furthermore, the WP parameter control unit303 may change the value of the first WP application flag from 1 to 0and performs a default motion-compensated prediction.

The WP selectors 304 and 305 change the connection ends of the predictedimages based on the WP application flags input from the WP parametercontrol unit 303. In a case where the corresponding WP application flagis “0”, each one of the WP selectors 304 and 305 connects the output endthereof to the default motion compensation unit 301. Then, the WPselectors 304 and 305 output the first and second predicted images so asto be input to the default motion compensation unit 301. On the otherhand, in a case where the corresponding WP application flag is “1”, eachone of the WP selectors 304 and 305 connects the output end thereof tothe weighted motion compensation unit 302. Then, the WP selectors 304and 305 output the first and second predicted images so as to be inputto the weighted motion compensation unit 302.

The default motion compensation unit 301 performs average processingbased on the two single-directional predicted images (the first andsecond predicted images) input from the WP selectors 304 and 305,thereby generating a predicted image. More specifically, in a case wherethe first and second WP application flags are “0”, the default motioncompensation unit 301 performs average processing based on NumericalExpression (1).

In addition, in a case where the prediction mode represented by themotion information (prediction parameter) is the single-directionalprediction, the default motion compensation unit 301 calculates a finalpredicted image using only the first predicted image based on NumericalExpression (4).

The weighted motion compensation unit 302 performs weighted motioncompensation based on the two single-directional predicted images (thefirst and second predicted images) input from the WP selectors 304 and305 and the weighting information input from the WP parameter controlunit 303. More specifically, in a case where the first and second WPapplication flags are “1”, the weighted motion compensation unit 302performs the weighting process based on Numerical Expression (7).

In addition, in a case where the calculation precision of the first andsecond predicted images and the calculation precision of the predictedimage are different from each other, the weighted motion compensationunit 302 realizes a rounding process by controlling LWD, which is fixedpoint precision, as in Numerical Expression (8).

In addition, in a case where the prediction mode represented by themotion information (prediction parameter) is a single directionalprediction, the weighted motion compensation unit 302 calculates a finalpredicted image using only the first predicted image based on NumericalExpression (9).

In addition, in a case where the calculation precision of the first andsecond predicted images and the calculation precision of the predictedimage are different from each other, the weighted motion compensationunit 302 realizes a rounding process by controlling LWD, which is fixedpoint precision, as in Numerical Expression (8), similarly to the caseof the bi-directional prediction.

The fixed point precision of the weighting factor has already beendescribed with reference to FIG. 7, and thus, description thereof willnot be presented. In addition, in the case of a single directionalprediction, various parameters (the second WP application flag, thesecond weighting factor, and the second offset information)corresponding to the second predicted image are not used and may be setto initial values determined in advance.

The decoding unit 801 uses syntax 500 represented in FIG. 15. The syntax500 represents the structure of encoded data that is a decoding targetof the decoding unit 801. The syntax 500 has already been described withreference to FIG. 15, and thus, description thereof will not bepresented. In addition, the picture parameter set syntax 505 has beendescribed with reference to FIG. 16 except that decoding is used insteadof encoding, and thus, description thereof will not be presented.Furthermore, the slice header syntax 507 has already been described withreference to FIG. 17 except that decoding is used instead of encoding,and thus, description thereof will not be presented. In addition, thepred weight table syntax 508 has already been described with referenceto FIG. 18 except that decoding is used instead of encoding, and thus,description thereof will not be presented.

Here, a method of predicting each syntax element relating to theweighted prediction in the syntax configuration will be described indetail. The prediction of the syntax element is performed by the indexreconfiguring unit 801B. The syntax configuration explicitlyrepresenting the prediction method according to the second embodiment isthe same as that of the first second embodiment.

In the inter-signal prediction method of luma_log2_weight_denom andchroma_log2_weight_denom representing the fixed point precision of theweighting factor, a restoration process is performed using NumericalExpression (13).

In the prediction method of luma_weight_lx[i] and chroma_weight_lx[i][j]representing weighting factors of the luminance and the color differencesignal, a restoration process is performed using Numerical Expressions(16) and (19).

A plurality of the prediction methods described above may not only beused independently but also be used in a combined manner. For example,by combining Numerical Expressions (13), (15), and (19), or the like,the code amount of the syntax element of the index information can beefficiently reduced.

As above, in the second embodiment, the selection range of the weightingfactor is derived by assigning values in the negative and positivedirection with the reference point of the weighting factor at which achange in the pixel value is zero being set as the approximate center,and it is checked that the weighting factor is included in the derivedselection range of the weighting factor. Therefore, according to thesecond embodiment, the selection range of the weighting factor expands,and a positive-side value having a high selection frequency can beeasily taken, compared to the case of H.264 or the like. In addition,according to the first embodiment, since the difference value betweenthe weighting factors of the decoding target takes a signed 8-bit valueof −128 to 127 as a fixed value, the selection range of the signed 8-bitprecision can be defined while the selection range of the weightingfactor is expanded.

As above, in the second embodiment, since the range of the syntax (thedifference value between the weighting factors) to be decoded can have afixed value, the decoder can check in a simplified manner whether theencoded data that has been decoded is within the range of thepredetermined specifications, and the specifications can be simplified.For example, in a case where the syntax to be decoded is set as aweighting factor, and the selection range of the weighting factorchanges in accordance with the reference value of the weighting factor,a configuration is necessary in which a table associating the referencevalue of the weighting factor and a minimum value and a maximum value ofthe selection range of the weighting factor is prepared, and the tableis referred to every time when the selection range of the weightingfactor is derived. In such a case, a configuration for referring to thetable each time the table is loaded into a memory is necessary, wherebythe hardware scale increases. In contrast to this, according to thesecond embodiment, since the range of the syntax (a difference valuebetween the weighting factors) to be decoded can be configured to have afixed value, the hardware scale can be reduced without havingrestrictions of the hardware configuration described above or the like.

In addition, in the second embodiment, while a difference value betweenthe weighting factors of which the range is fixed to the signed 8-bitprecision is decoded, the difference value between the weighting factorstakes a value near the center of the range (near zero), and accordingly,the code length at the time of decoding can be shortened, whereby thecoding efficiency can be improved. In H.264 or the like, while theweighting factor is decoded by signed exponential Golomb coding (se(v)),this coding is effective for a symbol of which the value to be decodedexponentially increases with zero used as a reference, and accordingly,generally, a reference value having the highest use frequency is set atthe center of the range. In the second embodiment, a case where a pixelvalue change between pictures of a general moving image is zero is usedas a reference value of the weighting factor, and, also in a predictionfor the selection range of the weighting factor, a prediction from thereference value is introduced. From this, the selection ranges of anexponential Golomb coding prediction and the weighting factor match eachother, and the effect of reducing the code amount is high. In addition,since the coefficient range is determined with the reference value setas the center, even in a case where a large value is taken, the degreesof distances of the positive value and the negative value from thereference value are the same, whereby there is an advantage of capableof decoding data using a code length shorter than that of a conventionaltechnique.

Modification 1 of First Embodiment

In the first embodiment, while the deriving of the selection range ofthe weighting factor in the encoding device 100 has been described, inModification 1, the driving of a selection range of the offset in theencoding device 100 will be described.

As described with reference to Numerical Expressions (20) to (22), inthe color space of YUV, a color difference component represents a colorusing the amount of a deviation from a median value. Accordingly, theamount of change from a change in the pixel value with the median valuebeing considered using the weighting factor can be set as a predictedvalue. This predicted value represents the reference value of the offsetin a case where the influence of the weighting factor is excluded. Inother words, the index setting unit 108 can derive the selection rangeof the offset by assigning a range taken by the value with the predictedvalue (the reference value of the offset) set as the approximate centerand can check that the offset is included in the derived selection rangeof the offset.

For example, in a case where LWD is 2, and the value of the weightingfactor is 5, the reference value of the weighting factor is (1<<2), inother words, 4. On the other hand, since the value of the weightingfactor is 5, a change in the pixel value occurs. Since the colordifference signal represents a color using the amount of a deviationfrom the median value, the index setting unit 108 acquires the referencevalue of the offset by excluding the influence of the weighting factor.The reference value of the offset is formulated using NumericalExpression (23).

Pred=(MED−((MED*chroma_weight_lx[i][j])>>chroma_log2_weight_denom))  (23)

Here, Pred represents the reference value of the offset of the colordifference signal, MED represents a median value (128 in the case of 8bits) of the color difference signal, and the right term represents theamount of a deviation from the median value due to the influence of theweighting factor. In addition, Numerical Expression (23) corresponds toa value acquired by inverting the sign of a right-end term of NumericalExpression (20). As represented in Numerical Expression (23), thereference value of the offset of the color difference signal isdetermined based on the weighting factor of the color difference signaland the fixed precision.

In addition, Numerical Expression (23) may be transformed as NumericalExpression (24).

Pred=((1<<(BitDepth−1))−((chroma_weight_lx[i][j])<<(BitDepth−1−chroma_log2_weight_denom))  (24)

Here, BitDepth represents a pixel depth of the color difference signal,and BitDepth is 8 in the case of an 8-bit signal. Since MED representedin Numerical Expression (23) is a value represented as the power of 2,and, by rewriting the inside of the shift on the right side usingBitDepth, it can be represented as Numerical Expression (24).

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram that illustrates an example of theselection range of the offset of the color difference signal accordingto Modification 1. In the example illustrated in FIG. 21, Pred isarranged so as to be positioned at the approximate center of theselection range, (Pred)−(1<<OR) is a minimum value of the selectionrange, and (Pred)+(1<<OR)−1 is a maximum value of the selection range.In addition, OR represents the bit precision of the offset and, forexample, 8 in H.264 or the like. As illustrated in FIG. 21, theselection range of the offset of the color difference signal is definedwithin predetermined bit precision with the reference value of theoffset of the color difference signal being the approximate center.Although detailed description will not be presented, a difference value(a difference value between the offset of the color difference signaland the reference value of the offset of the color difference signal)between offsets of color difference signals of the encoding target canbe defined as a fixed value of the bit precision of the offset. Forexample, in the case of 8-bit precision, the difference value betweenthe offsets of the color difference signals is an 8-bit fixed value of−128 to 127. In addition, for example, in the case of 9-bit precision,the difference value between the offsets of the color difference signalsis a 9-bit fixed value of −256 to 255.

From this, a problem in which the range of a value to be encoded is notdetermined without restoring the reference value can be solved. Inaddition, in Modification 1, while an example has been described inwhich the selection range of the offset of the color difference signalis derived by the index setting unit 108, the deriving of the selectionrange is not limited thereto but may be performed by the encoding unit110.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart that illustrates an example of the process ofderiving the selection range of the offset of the color differencesignal according to Modification 1. Here, while a case will be assumedto be described in which the index setting unit 108 performs the processof deriving the selection range of the offset of the color differencesignal, as described above, the process may be performed by the encodingunit 110.

First, the index setting unit 108 derives the fixed point precision LWDof the weighting factor (Step S12). Here, the index setting unit 108 mayderive the fixed point precision LWD of the weighting factor either fromthe WP parameter information or from the index information.

Subsequently, the index setting unit 108 derives the weighting factorW_(xc) (S13). Here, the index setting unit 108 may derive the weightingfactor W_(xc) either from the WP parameter information or from the indexinformation.

Subsequently, the index setting unit 108 derives the reference value ofthe offset of the color difference signal using Numerical Expression(23) by using the fixed precision LWD of the weighting factor and theweighting factor W_(xc) that have been derived (Step S14).

Subsequently, the index setting unit 108 derives a minimum value of theselection range of the offset of the color difference signal bysubtracting (1<<OR) from the derived reference value of the offset ofthe color difference signal (Step S15).

Subsequently, the index setting unit 108 adds (1<<OR)−1 to the derivedreference value of the offset of the color difference signal, therebyderiving a maximum value of the selection range of the offset of thecolor difference signal (Step S16).

Then, the index setting unit 108 checks that the offset of the colordifference signal is included within the derived selection range of theoffset of the color difference signal. In addition, in a case where itis checked that the offset of the color difference signal is notincluded in the selection range of offset of the color differencesignal, the index setting unit 108 may perform a clipping process usinga maximum value or a minimum value of the selection range of the offsetof the color difference signal. In such a case, the index setting unit108 may clip the offset of the color difference signal to the minimumvalue in a case where the offset of the color difference signal is lessthan the minimum value of the selection range and clip the offset of thecolor difference signal to the maximum value in a case where the offsetof the color difference signal is more than the maximum value of theselection range. By introducing such a clipping process, the value ofthe encoding target such as the difference value between the offset ofthe color difference signal takes a value within the predetermined bitprecision without arranging a specific range restriction, andaccordingly, the configuration of the circuit scale used by the hardwarecan be clarified.

In addition, as described with reference to FIG. 18, the information ofthe value of the weighting factor and the fixed point precision isencoded first before the information of the offset, the value of theweighting factor can be derived when the reference value of the offsetis derived.

Furthermore, the selection ranges of the first and second offsets forthe color difference signal described in Modification 1 may be appliedseparated from the selection ranges of the first and second weightingfactors described in the first embodiment. For example, it may beconfigured such that the selection ranges of the first and secondweighting factor are the same in H.264, and the selection ranges of thefirst and second offsets are as those of Modification 1.

According to Modification 1, since the range of the syntax (thedifference value between the offsets) to be encoded can have a fixedvalue, the specifications can be simplified compared to a configurationin which an encoder dynamically changes such a range. In addition, in acase where the syntax to be encoded is set as an offset, and theselection range of the offset changes in accordance with the referencevalue of the offset, a configuration, in which a table associating thereference value of the offset and a minimum value and a maximum value ofthe selection range of the offset is prepared, and the table is referredto every time when the selection range of the offset is derived, or aconfiguration, in which the selection range of the offset is calculatedto be derived each time, is necessary. In such a case, a configurationfor referring to the table each time the table is loaded into a memoryor a calculation circuit used for calculating the selection range of theoffset each time is necessary, whereby the hardware scale increases. Incontrast to this, in a case where the range of the syntax (a differencevalue between offsets) to be encoded is fixed as in Modification 1, thehardware scale can be reduced without having restrictions of thehardware configuration described above or the like.

Modification 1 of Second Embodiment

In the second embodiment, while the deriving of the selection range ofthe weighting factor in the decoding device 800 has been described, inModification 1 of the second embodiment, the driving of a selectionrange of the offset in the decoding device 800 will be described. InModification 1 of the second embodiment, the index setting unit 806 canderive the selection range of the offset by assigning a range taken bythe value with the predicted value (the reference value of the offset)set as the approximate center and can check that the offset is includedin the derived selection range of the offset. The deriving of theselection range of the offset is the same as that of Modification 1 ofthe first embodiment, and thus, detailed description thereof will not bepresented. In addition, the deriving of the selection range of theoffset may be performed not by the index setting unit 806 but by theindex reconfiguring unit 801B.

According to Modification 1 of the second embodiment, since the range ofthe syntax (the difference value between the offsets) to be encoded canhave a fixed value, the specifications can be simplified compared to aconfiguration in which an encoder dynamically changes such a range. Inaddition, in a case where the syntax to be encoded is set as an offset,and the selection range of the offset changes in accordance with thereference value of the offset, a configuration, in which a tableassociating the reference value of the offset and a minimum value and amaximum value of the selection range of the offset is prepared, and thetable is referred to every time when the selection range of the offsetis derived, or a configuration, in which the selection range of theoffset is calculated to be derived each time, is necessary. In such acase, a configuration for referring to the table each time the table isloaded into a memory or a calculation circuit used for calculating theselection range of the offset each time is necessary, whereby thehardware scale increases. In contrast to this, in a case where the rangeof the syntax (a difference value between offsets) to be encoded isfixed as in Modification 1, the hardware scale can be reduced withouthaving restrictions of the hardware configuration described above or thelike.

Modification 2 of First Embodiment

In the first embodiment, while the deriving of the selection range ofthe weighting factor in the encoding device 100 has been described, inModification 2, an example will be described in which the selectionrange of the weighting factor is shifted when the selection range of theweighting factor is derived in the encoding device 100.

In the first embodiment, as described with reference to FIG. 9, theapproximate center of the selection range of the weighting factor is setas the reference value of the weighting factor. In addition, asdescribed with reference to FIG. 7 and the like, in a case where thereis no change in the pixel value between images on the average, the valueof the weighting factor is 1.0 when represented as a real value, and therange in which the weighting factor is negative is not selected in thesingle-directional weighted prediction. From this, it is understoodthat, in the selection range of the weighting factor that is practicallyoperated, the frequency of selection near the reference value is thehighest, and a negative range is not used much. Accordingly, inModification 2, the index setting unit 108 shifts the selection range ofthe weighting factor to the positive side when the selection range ofthe weighting factor is derived.

FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram that illustrates an example of theselection range of the weighting factor according to Modification 2. Inthe example illustrated in FIG. 23, differently from the selection rangeof the weighting factor described with reference to FIG. 9, a newreference value ((1<<LWD)+SHFT) acquired by adding a shift value SHFT tothe reference value (1<<LWD) of the weighting factor is arranged to bepositioned at the approximate center of the selection range, and a value(−128+(1<<LWD)+SHFT) acquired by subtracting 128 from this value is aminimum value of the selection range, and a value (127+(1<<LWD)+SHFT)acquired by adding 127 to this value is a maximum value of the selectionrange. At this time, while there are cases where the maximum value islarger than 255 based on the value of the fixed point precision LWD, theindex setting unit 108 may perform a clipping process with the maximumvalue being set to 255 or may change the value of SHFT that can be takenfor each fixed point. In addition, in Modification 2, while an examplehas been described in which the selection range of the weighting factoris derived by the index setting unit 108, the deriving of the selectionrange is not limited thereto but may be performed by the encoding unit110.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart that illustrates an example of the process ofderiving the selection range of the weighting factor according toModification 2. Here, while a case will be assumed to be described inwhich the index setting unit 108 performs the process of deriving theselection range of the weighting factor, as described above, theselection range may be derived by the encoding unit 110.

First, the index setting unit 108 derives the fixed point precision LWDof the weighting factor (Step S22). Here, the index setting unit 108 mayderive the fixed point precision LWD of the weighting factor either fromthe WP parameter information or from the index information.

Subsequently, the index setting unit 108 derives a reference value((1<<LWD)+SHFT) of the weighting factor by using the fixed pointprecision LWD and the shift value SHFT that have been derived (StepS23).

Subsequently, the index setting unit 108 subtracts 128 from the derivedreference value ((1<<LWD)+SHFT) of the weighting factor, therebyderiving a minimum value of the selection range of the weighting factor(Step S24).

Subsequently, the index setting unit 108 adds 127 to the derivedreference value ((1<<LWD)+SHFT) of the weighting factor, therebyderiving a maximum value of the selection range of the weighting factor(Step S25).

Then, the index setting unit 108 checks that the weighting factor isincluded within the derived selection range of the weighting factor. Inaddition, in a case where it is checked that the weighting factor is notincluded in the derived selection range of the weighting factor, theindex setting unit 108 may perform a clipping process using a maximumvalue or a minimum value of the selection range of the weighting factor.In such a case, the index setting unit 108 may clip the weighting factorto the minimum value in a case where the weighting factor is less thanthe minimum value of the selection range and clip the weighting factorto the maximum value in a case where the weighting factor is more thanthe maximum value of the selection range. By introducing such a clippingprocess, the value of the encoding target such as the difference valuebetween the weighting factors takes a value within the predetermined bitprecision without arranging a specific range restriction, andaccordingly, the configuration of the circuit scale used by the hardwarecan be clarified.

As above, in Modification 2, in the selection range of the weightingfactor, values are assigned in the negative direction and the positivedirection with a reference value shifted by a predetermined value with achange in the weighting factor being considered set as the center, therange of values to be encoded can be fixed.

Modification 2 of Second Embodiment

In the second embodiment, while the selection range of the weightingfactor has been described to be derived in the decoding device 800, inModification 2 of the second embodiment, an example will be described inwhich the selection range of the weighting factor is shifted when theselection range of the weighting factor is derived in the decodingdevice 800. In Modification 2 of the second embodiment, the indexsetting unit 806 shifts the selection range of the weighting factor whenthe selection range of the weighting factor is derived. The deriving ofthe selection range of the weighting factor is the same as that ofModification 2 of the first embodiment, and thus, detailed descriptionwill not be presented. In addition, the selection range of the weightingfactor may be derived not by the index setting unit 806 but by the indexreconfiguring unit 801B.

As above, in Modification 2 of the second embodiment, in the selectionrange of the weighting factor, values are assigned in the negativedirection and the positive direction with a reference value shifted by apredetermined value with a change in the weighting factor beingconsidered set as the center, the range of values to be decoded can befixed.

Modification 3 of First Embodiment

In Modification 3, a deriving technique other than the derivingtechnique of the selection range of the weighting factor in the encodingdevice 100 according to the first embodiment will be described.

In Modification 3, luma_weight_lx[i] represented in NumericalExpressions 14 to 16 has a fixed selection range, anddelta_luma_weight_lx[i] has a dynamic selection range in accordance withLWD. In addition, the selection range of the weighting factorluma_weight_lx[i] of Modification 5 is as illustrated in FIG. 9.

FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram that illustrates an example of therange of a difference value between weighting factors of an encodingtarget according to Modification 3. In the example illustrated in FIG.25, the difference value delta_luma_weight_lx[i] of the weighting factortakes a signed 9-bit value for performing addition or subtraction of asigned 8-bit signal. On the other hand, the reference value of theweighting factor takes a value increasing in accordance with the fixedpoint precision, and the difference value between the weighting factorstends to be inclined to the negative side as the value of the fixedpoint precision increases.

FIG. 26 is an explanatory diagram that illustrates an example of therelation between values of syntax elements according to Modification 3and illustrates the relation between values of luma_log2_weight_denom,default_luma_weight_lx, luma_weight_lx[i], and delta_luma_weight_lx[i].It is understood that delta_luma_weight_lx[i] that is a syntax elementencoded by the entropy encoding unit 110A, in other words, the rangetaken by the difference value between the weighting factors, asillustrated in FIG. 19, tends to be inclined to the negative side as thevalue of luma_log2_weight_denom representing the fixed point precisionincreases. In addition, it is understood that the valueluma_weight_lx[i] of the decoded weighting factor has a fixed range of−128 to 127.

As above, according to Modification 3, the range of the difference valueto be encoded is set such that the value of the decoded weighting factorhas a fixed selection range, and accordingly, even in a case where aprediction method is changed, the same selection range as that of H.264can be set.

Modification 3 of Second Embodiment

In Modification 3 of the second embodiment, a deriving technique otherthan the deriving technique of the selection range of the weightingfactor in the decoding device 800 according to the second embodimentwill be described. However, the deriving technique of the selectionrange of the weighting factor according to Modification 3 of the secondembodiment is the same as Modification 3 of the first embodiment, andthus, detailed description thereof will not be presented.

As above, according to Modification 3 of the second embodiment, therange of the difference value to be decoded is set such that the valueof the weighting factor has a fixed selection range, and accordingly,even in a case where a prediction method is changed, the same selectionrange as that of H.264 can be set.

Modification 4 of First Embodiment

In Modification 4, an example will be described in which the selectionrange of the weighting factor is shifted when the selection range of theweighting factor according to Modification 3 of the first embodiment isderived.

In Modification 4, while the index setting unit 108 shifts the range ofthe difference value between the weighting factors to the positive side,this is equivalent to substantially shifting the selection range of theweighting factor after decoding to the positive side.

FIG. 27 is an explanatory diagram that illustrates an example of therange of the difference value between weighting factors according toModification 4. Compared to Modification 3 of the first embodiment, therange of the difference value between the weighting factors taking avalue in the 8-bit range of −128 to 127 is shifted by SHFT to thepositive side.

FIG. 28 illustrates the selection range of the weighting factor afterdecoding according to Modification 4. From FIG. 28, it can be understoodthat, in Modification 4, the range of the weighting factor is shifted tothe positive side by the amount of shift of the difference value. Evenunder such a configuration, the reference value of a case where LWD is7, which cannot be conventionally selected, can be selected.

Modification 4 of Second Embodiment

In Modification 4 of the second embodiment, an example will be describedin which the selection range of the weighting factor is shifted when theselection range of the weighting factor according to Modification 3 ofthe second embodiment is derived. However, the technique for shiftingthe selection range of the weighting factor according to Modification 4of the second embodiment is the same as that of Modification 4 of thefirst embodiment, and thus detailed description will not be presented.Even under such a configuration, the reference value of a case where LWDis 7, which cannot be conventionally selected, can be selected.

Modification 5 of First Embodiment

In Modification 5, an example will be described in which a wrappingprocess is performed for the difference value between the weightingfactor according to Modifications 3 and 4 of the first embodiment.

As described with reference to FIG. 25, the difference value between theweighting factors is a singed 9-bit signal (−256 to 126) and is inclinedto the negative side as the fixed point precision increases. Generally,the weighting factor is entropy-encoded using an exponential Golombcoding or the like, and accordingly, in a case where the balance isinclined to the positive/negative side, there are cases where the codingefficiency is lowered. Although the range of the difference valuebetween the weighting factors differs in accordance with the fixed pointprecision, the range of a case where the fixed point precision isdetermined is within 8 bits. For example, in a case where LWD is 7, therange of the difference value is −256 to −1, and when the range isshifted with respect to the reference 0, the range corresponds to valuesof 8 bits of 0 to 255. Accordingly, the index reconfiguring unit 110Bperforms a wrapping process for signed 9 bits to unsigned 8 bits inaccordance with the fixed point precision. In such a case, a value inthe positive direction takes a conventional value, and a value in thenegative direction is connected to the distal end of the positivevalues.

FIG. 29 is a flowchart that illustrates an example of the wrappingprocess of the difference value between weighting factors according toModification 5.

First, the index reconfiguring unit 110B derives fixed point precisionLWD of the weighting factor from index information (Step S32).

Subsequently, the index reconfiguring unit 110B derives the weightingfactor from the index information (Step S33).

Subsequently, the index reconfiguring unit 110B derives a referencevalue (1<<LWD) of the weighting factor using the derived fixed pointprecision LWD (Step S34).

Subsequently, the index reconfiguring unit 110B derives a differencevalue between the weighting factors using Numerical Expression (14)(Step S35).

Subsequently, the index reconfiguring unit 110B performs a wrappingprocess based on the reference value (1<<LWD) of the weighting factorand, by maintaining positive values and connecting negative values tothe rear of a positive maximum value, generates an unsigned 8-bit code(Step S36).

Then, entropy coding is performed for the code generated by the indexreconfiguring unit 110B by the entropy encoding unit 110A.

As above, in Modification 5, by performing the wrapping process for thevalues of singed 9 bits, the values can be constantly encoded intounsigned 8 bits, and whereby hardware such as an exponential Golombencoding unit of signed 9 bits does not need to be arranged.

Modification 5 of Second Embodiment

In Modification 5 of the second embodiment, an example will be describedin which a wrapping process is performed for the difference valuebetween the weighting factors in Modifications 3 and 4 of the secondembodiment.

As described with reference to FIG. 25, the difference value between theweighting factors is a singed 9-bit signal (−256 to 126) and is inclinedto the negative side as the fixed point precision increases. Generally,the weighting factor is entropy-encoded using an exponential Golombcoding or the like, and accordingly, in a case where the balance isinclined to the positive/negative side, there are cases where the codingefficiency is lowered. Although the range of the difference valuebetween the weighting factors differs in accordance with the fixed pointprecision, the range of a case where the fixed point precision isdetermined is within 8 bits. For example, in a case where LWD is 7, therange of the difference value is −256 to −1, and when the range isshifted with respect to the reference 0, the range corresponds to valuesof 8 bits of 0 to 255. Accordingly, the index reconfiguring unit 801Bperforms a wrapping process for signed 9 bits to unsigned 8 bits inaccordance with the fixed point precision. In such a case, a value inthe positive direction takes a conventional value, and a value in thenegative direction is connected to the distal end of the positivevalues.

FIG. 30 is a flowchart that illustrates an example of a restorationprocess of a weighting factor according to Modification 5 of the secondembodiment.

First, the index reconfiguring unit 801A derives fixed point precisionLWD of the weighting factor by decoding encoded data (Step S42).

Subsequently, the index reconfiguring unit 801A decodes the encoded datanext, thereby decoding an unsigned 8-bit code representing thedifference value between the weighting factors (Step S43).

Subsequently, the index reconfiguring unit 801B derives a referencevalue (1<<LWD) of the weighting factor using the derived fixed pointprecision LWD (Step S44).

Subsequently, the index reconfiguring unit 801B restores the unsigned8-bit code to a difference value between signed 9 bits by using thederived reference value ((1<<LWD) of the weighting factor (Step S45).Here, values less than the reference value are maintained based on thedecoded data, and codes that are the reference value or more areconnected to the negative side, whereby the difference values arerestored. As above, the restored difference value between the weightingfactors is derived, and the weighting factor is restored using NumericalExpression (15).

As above, in Modification 5 of the second embodiment, by performing thewrapping process for the values of singed 9 bits, the values can beconstantly encoded into unsigned 8 bits, and whereby hardware such as anexponential Golomb encoding unit of signed 9 bits does not need to bearranged.

Modification 6

In the first and second embodiments described above, an example has beendescribed in which the frame is divided into rectangular blocks eachhaving a size of 16×16 pixels or the like and is encoded/decoded inorder from an upper left block of the screen toward the lower rightblock (see FIG. 2A). However, the encoding order and the decoding orderare not limited to those illustrated in this example. For example, theencoding and the decoding may be performed in order from the lower rightside toward the upper left side, or the encoding and the decoding may beperformed so as to draw a whirlpool from the center of the screen towardthe end of the screen. In addition, the encoding and the decoding may beperformed in order from the upper right side toward the lower left side,or the encoding and the decoding may be performed so as to draw awhirlpool from the end of the screen toward the center of the screen. Insuch a case, since the position of an adjacent pixel block that can bereferred to in accordance with the encoding order changes, the positionmay be changed to an appropriately usable position.

In the first and second embodiments described above, while thedescription has been presented with the size of a prediction targetblock such as a 4×4 pixel block, an 8×8 pixel block, a 16×16 pixel blockor the like being illustrated as an example, the prediction target blockneed not have a uniform block shape. For example, the size of theprediction target bock may be a 16×8 pixel block, an 8×16 pixel block,an 8×4 pixel block, a 4×8 pixel block, or the like. In addition, it isnot necessary to uniformed all the block sizes within one coding treeblock, and a plurality of block sizes different from each other may bemixed. In a case where a plurality of block sizes different from eachother are mixed within one coding tree block, the code amount forencoding or decoding division information increases in accordance withan increase in the number of divisions. Thus, it is preferable to selecta block size in consideration of the balance between the code amount ofthe division information and the quality of a local encoded image or adecoded image.

In the first and second embodiments described above, for thesimplification, comprehensive description of some parts has beenpresented for a color signal component without the prediction processesor the methods of deriving the selection ranges of the luminance signaland the color difference signal not being differentiated from eachother. However, in a case where the prediction process or the method ofderiving the selection range is different between the luminance signaland the color difference signal, the same prediction method orprediction methods different from each other may be used. In a casewhere prediction methods different from each other are used for theluminance signal and the color difference signal, encoding or decodingmay be performed using the prediction method selected for the colordifference signal similarly to that for the luminance signal.

In the first and second embodiments described above, for thesimplification, a comprehensive description has been presented for acolor signal component without the weighted motion compensatedprediction processes of the luminance signal and the color differencesignal not being differentiated from each other. However, in a casewhere the weighted prediction processes of the luminance signal and thecolor difference signal are different from each other, the same weightedprediction method or weighted prediction methods different from eachother may be used. In a case where weighted prediction methods differentfrom each other are used for the luminance signal and the colordifference signal, encoding or decoding may be performed using theweighted prediction method selected for the color difference signalsimilarly to that for the luminance signal.

In the first and second embodiments described above, between the rows ofthe table represented in the syntax configuration, a syntax element notdefined in this embodiment may be inserted, and a technique relating toother conditional branches may be included. Alternatively, a syntaxtable may be divided into a plurality of tables, or syntax tables may beintegrated together. In addition, the same term need not be necessaryused, but the term may be arbitrarily changed in accordance with a usedform.

As described above, according to each embodiment and each modification,by employing a configuration in which the range of a value to be takenby the syntax element is defined when a weighted motion-compensatedprediction is made, the range of the values according thereto is setwithin the range of the bit precision, and a short code length is givento a value that has an actual high use frequency, the problem ofencoding redundant information of the syntax element is solved, and theweighted motion compensated prediction process having high efficiency isrealized. Therefore, according to each embodiment and each modification,the coding efficiency is improved, and subjective image quality isimproved.

Next, a hardware configuration of the device (the encoding device, andthe decoding device) according to each embodiment will be described withreference to FIG. 31. FIG. 31 is an explanatory view illustrating ahardware configuration of the device according to each embodiment. Theencoding device and the decoding device each comprise a control unit2801, such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) which controls the overalldevice, a main storage 2802, such as a ROM (Read Only Memory) or a RAM(Random Access Memory) which stores various data or programs, anauxiliary storage 2803, such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) or a CD(Compact Disk) drive which stores various data or programs, and a busconnecting these elements. This is a hardware configuration utilizing aconventional computer. Further, the encoding device and the decodingdevice are connected wirelessly or through a wire to a communication I/F(Interface) 2804 which controls communication with an externalapparatus, a display 2805 which displays information, and an operatingunit 2806, such as a keyboard or a mouse which receives instructionsinput by the user. Data to be encoded and data to be decoded may bestored in the HDD, or input by the disk drive apparatus, or inputexternally via the communication I/F 2804.

The hardware configuration shown in FIG. 31 is a mere example. Theencoding device and the decoding device of each embodiment may beimplemented partly or entirely by an integrated circuit such as an LSI(Large Scale Integration) circuit or an IC (Integrated Circuit) chipset. The functional blocks of the encoding device and the decodingdevice may be individually formed of a processor, or may be integratedpartly or entirely as a processor. Integration of the circuits of theconfiguration is not limited to LSI, but may be implemented as adedicated circuit or a general-purpose processor.

While several embodiments of the present invention have been described,such embodiments are presented as examples and are not for the purposeof limiting the scope of the invention. These novel embodiments can beperformed in other various forms, and various omissions, substitutions,and changes can be made therein in a range not departing from theconcept of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereofbelong to the scope or the concept of the invention and belong to theinvention described in the claims and a scope equivalent thereto.

For example, a program realizing the process of each embodimentdescribed above may be provided with being stored in a computer-readablestorage medium. As the storage medium, a storage medium that can store aprogram and can be read by a computer such as a magnetic disk, anoptical disc (a CD-ROM, a CD-R, a DVD, or the like), an magneto-opticaldisk (an MO or the like), or a semiconductor memory may be usedregardless of the storage form.

In addition, the program realizing the process of each embodiment may bestored in a computer (server) connected to a network such as theInternet and be downloaded to a computer (client) through the network.

While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments havebeen presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit thescope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel embodiments described hereinmay be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, variousomissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodimentsdescribed herein may be made without departing from the spirit of theinventions. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intendedto cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope andspirit of the inventions.

What is claimed is:
 1. An encoding method, comprising: encoding a firstdenom (denominator) for a luma weighting factor; encoding a firstdifference value that is equal to a value of a difference between thefirst denominator and a second denominator for a chroma weightingfactor; encoding a second difference value of the luma weighting factor,wherein the second difference value is equal to a value of a differencebetween the luma weighting factor and a first reference value, and thefirst reference value is equal to a value obtained by left shift of 1 byat least one binary digit specified by the first denominator, and thesecond difference value is in a fixed range of −128 to +127 regardlessof the first denominator; encoding a third difference value of thechroma weighting factor, wherein the third difference value is equal toa value of a difference between the chroma weighting factor and a secondreference value, the second reference value is equal to a value obtainedby left shift of 1 by at least one binary digit specified by the seconddenominator, and the third difference value is in a fixed range of −128to +127 regardless of the second denominator; and encoding a fourthdifference value of a chroma offset, wherein the fourth difference valueis equal to a value of a difference between the chroma offset and athird reference value, the fourth difference value is in a fixed rangeof −2^(n) to +2^(n)−1, and the third reference value is equal to a valueobtained by subtracting a value obtained by both multiplying a medianvalue of a maximum pixel value by the chroma weighting factor andshifting to right for the at least one binary digit specified by thesecond denominator, from the median value, wherein the first referencevalue is equal to a value of the luma weighting factor set when a lumacomponent of a reference image and a luma component of a target imageare same, and the second reference value is equal to a value of thechroma weighting factor set when a chroma component of the referenceimage and a chroma component of the target image are same.
 2. A decodingmethod, comprising: inputting encoded data; decoding a first denom(denominator) for a luma weighting factor from the encoded data;decoding a first difference value that is equal to a value of adifference between the first denominator and a second denominator for achroma weighting factor from the encoded data; decoding a seconddifference value of the luma weighting factor from the encoded data,wherein the second difference value is equal to a value of a differencebetween the luma weighting factor and a first reference value, and thefirst reference value is equal to a value obtained by left shift of 1 byat least one binary digit specified by the first denominator, and thesecond difference value is in a fixed range of −128 to +127 regardlessof the first denominator; decoding a third difference value of thechroma weighting factor from the encoded data, wherein the thirddifference value is equal to a value of a difference between the chromaweighting factor and a second reference value, the second referencevalue is equal to a value obtained by left shift of 1 by at least onebinary digit specified by the second denominator, and the thirddifference value is in a fixed range of −128 to +127 regardless of thesecond denominator; and decoding a fourth difference value of a chromaoffset from the encoded data, wherein the fourth difference value isequal to a value of a difference between the chroma offset and a thirdreference value, the fourth difference value is in a fixed range of−2^(n) to +2^(n)−1, and the third reference value is equal to a valueobtained by subtracting a value obtained by both multiplying a medianvalue of a maximum pixel value by the chroma weighting factor andshifting to right for the at least one binary digit specified by thesecond denominator, from the median value, wherein the first referencevalue is equal to a value of the luma weighting factor set when a lumacomponent of a reference image and a luma component of a target imageare same, and the second reference value is equal to a value of thechroma weighting factor set when a chroma component of the referenceimage and a chroma component of the target image are same.
 3. A storagedevice, comprising: a memory configured to store encoded data thatincludes data of a first denom (denominator) for a luma weightingfactor; data of a first difference value that is equal to a value of adifference between the first denominator and a second denominator for achroma weighting factor; data of a second difference value of the lumaweighting factor, wherein the second difference value is equal to avalue of a difference between the luma weighting factor and a firstreference value, and the first reference value is equal to a valueobtained by left shift of 1 by at least one binary digit specified bythe first denominator, and the second difference value is in a fixedrange of −128 to +127 regardless of the first denominator; data of athird difference value of the chroma weighting factor, wherein the thirddifference value is equal to a value of a difference between the chromaweighting factor and a second reference value, the second referencevalue is equal to a value obtained by left shift of 1 by at least onebinary digit specified by the second denominator, and the thirddifference value is in a fixed range of −128 to +127 regardless of thesecond denominator; and data of a fourth difference value of a chromaoffset, wherein the fourth difference value is equal to a value of adifference between the chroma offset and a third reference value, thefourth difference value is in a fixed range of −2^(n) to +2^(n)−1, andthe third reference value is equal to a value obtained by subtracting avalue obtained by both multiplying a median value of a maximum pixelvalue by the chroma weighting factor and shifting to right for the atleast one binary digit specified by the second denominator, from themedian value, wherein the first reference value is equal to a value ofthe luma weighting factor set when a luma component of a reference imageand a luma component of a target image are same, and the secondreference value is equal to a value of the chroma weighting factor setwhen a chroma component of the reference image and a chroma component ofthe target image are same.
 4. A transfer device, comprising: a transfercircuitry configured to transfer encoded data that includes data of afirst denom (denominator) for a luma weighting factor; data of a firstdifference value that is equal to a value of a difference between thefirst denominator and a second denominator for a chroma weightingfactor; data of a second difference value of the luma weighting factor,wherein the second difference value is equal to a value of a differencebetween the luma weighting factor and a first reference value, and thefirst reference value is equal to a value obtained by left shift of 1 byat least one binary digit specified by the first denominator, and thesecond difference value is in a fixed range of −128 to +127 regardlessof the first denominator; data of a third difference value of the chromaweighting factor, wherein the third difference value is equal to a valueof a difference between the chroma weighting factor and a secondreference value, the second reference value is equal to a value obtainedby left shift of 1 by at least one binary digit specified by the seconddenominator, and the third difference value is in a fixed range of −128to +127 regardless of the second denominator; and data of a fourthdifference value of a chroma offset, wherein the fourth difference valueis equal to a value of a difference between the chroma offset and athird reference value, the fourth difference value is in a fixed rangeof −2^(n) to +2^(n)−1, and the third reference value is equal to a valueobtained by subtracting a value obtained by both multiplying a medianvalue of a maximum pixel value by the chroma weighting factor andshifting to right for the at least one binary digit specified by thesecond denominator, from the median value, wherein the first referencevalue is equal to a value of the luma weighting factor set when a lumacomponent of a reference image and a luma component of a target imageare same, and the second reference value is equal to a value of thechroma weighting factor set when a chroma component of the referenceimage and a chroma component of the target image are same.